Faculty Award: Sarah Vitale, Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Sarah Vitale, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Philosophy Outreach Project (POP)

In this ongoing project, interdisciplinary teams of Ball State students curate philosophical content and foster philosophical discussions for Indiana high school students. They have conducted 22 site visits at 11 high schools throughout Indiana. POP students also give philosophical presentations, facilitate activities, and lead discussions during weekly meetings of the Muncie Central High School Philosophy Club, which BSU students founded. During these meetings, POP students often field questions about studying university-level philosophy and college life in general.

When not working directly with high school students, POP team members develop online resources and materials for high school educators. These materials are made freely available via the POP website, and further interactions are facilitated through the POP social media program. Finally, POP students host a highly successful, state-wide philosophy conference for pre-college students. The forum is free to attendees, and any high school student in the state of Indiana is welcome to attend.

POP has made an impact by serving approximately 500 Indiana high school students. Under Sarah’s guidance, the project has been awarded three external grants, received multiple Provost Grants including a Sustainable Course grant in 2021, and produced undergraduate scholarship. Sarah was recently honored with Indiana Campus Compact’s 2021 Emerging Leaders in Community Engagement Award. Congratulations, Sarah, on your continuing work with the Philosophy Outreach Project.