Kevin Gary
Education
- Ph.D. in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies – Loyola University Chicago 2005
- M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction – Loyola University Chicago 2000
- M.A. in Systematic Theology – University of Notre Dame 1997
- B.A. in Political Science – University of Notre Dame 1992
Biography
Kevin Gary is a Professor in the Education Department. He has a Ph.D. in cultural and educational policy studies from Loyola University Chicago with a focus in the philosophy of education and an M.A. in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame. His teaching experience includes 10 years of teaching theology at Loyola Academy High School in Wilmette, Illinois.; seven years as a professor of education and philosophy at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana; 8 years as a professor of education at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana; and one year as faculty director of Goshen College’s international studies program in Lima, Perú.
Contributions
Dr. Gary’s research is primarily in philosophy of education. He recently published, Why Boredom Matters: Education and the Quest for a Meaningful Life with Cambridge University Press in 2022. K-12 educators (and parents) face bored students every day. Drawing on multiple disciplines Dr. Gary makes a case for teachers guiding students to engage with boredom constructively, steering clear of restless boredom avoidance on the one hand, or passive submission to boredom on the other.
Dr. Gary has published in multiple journals, including Educational Theory, the Journal of Philosophy of Education, and Studies in Philosophy and Education. Sample publications include:
- “Leisure, Freedom, and Liberal Education,” (2006), Educational Theory
- “Boredom, Contemplation, and Liberation,” (2013), Philosophy of Education
- “Pragmatic Standards versus Saturated Phenomenon: Cultivating a Love of Learning,” (2019), Journal of Philosophy of Education
- “Cultivating Moral Epiphanies,” (2021), co-authored with Drew Chambers, Educational Theory
Dr. Gary is one of the founding executives of the North American Association for Philosophy and Education (NAAPE), launched in 2018. NAAPE provides an international forum for scholars working at the intersection of philosophy and educational thought, where disciplines such as ethics, political philosophy, epistemology, philosophical anthropology, history, and others meet the practical challenges of teaching and learning.
Dr. Gary is passionate about liberal education, especially within the context of a Christian liberal arts university, which aims to cultivate practical wisdom, compassion, and a Renaissance spirit.