Who Is Owen Anderson?

I received a question: “Sure, you can point out problems, but what have you done?” I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to write a post about my professional career and, by doing that, give context to my Substack.

I am currently a tenured full professor at Arizona State University. I work at New College in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies. I was hired for this tenure track job in 2006, received tenure in 2012, and became a full professor in 2018 (I was 40 years old). I have been through all stages at ASU, from daycare at age 4, to undergrad, graduate masters, graduate PhD, adjunct, non-track lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor, and full professor.

I have undergraduate degrees in philosophy (analytic) and history (emphasis and senior thesis on Chinese Philosophy). I then completed a master’s degree in philosophy (thesis on Augustine and akrasia-weakness of the will) and another master’s degree in religious studies (thesis on Benjamin Warfield and the idea of right reason). From there, I completed my PhD in philosophy (dissertation on Romans 1:18-22 and the clarity of general revelation).

As soon as I was hired in 2006 for a tenure track position, I recognized that I would be given different treatment based on my race, gender, religion, and politics. I went through the rigor of the hiring process, and in the end, I was told I would be hired, and so would another candidate because they would help ASU reach its diversity goals. The discrimination I faced was evidenced by what I was excluded from. My chair at the time complained that there was too much “testosterone” in our department when she joined, and she was going to change that.

ASU has well-articulated rules about tenure, and they only became more specific after I was hired. My approach was to recognize the inequities, be kind to everyone despite this, and work hard to succeed in the role I was given by overcoming obstacles with a joyful heart.

I don’t want you to take this next part the wrong way, but it needs to be said. I have far out-published everyone in my program (Philosophy, Religion, and Society), in my School, and most others in Philosophy, History, or Religious Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I have three books with Cambridge University Press alone, not to mention my other books, journal articles, book reviews, national media appearances, podcasts, and news articles/commentary. I have received far more grant money than anyone in my program. I was awarded a prestigious fellowship by Princeton University and made a visiting scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Even so, I have always been overlooked for appointments to leadership positions or committees due to my not checking the right boxes. I have never received an ASU award for my outstanding work while people who did much less were awarded. I explicitly asked to be put through ASU’s leadership program and was told, “We will let you know,” while I observed who was put forward instead.

However, I was program lead for two years, elected to the faculty senate, and then elected to be the ASU West faculty senate president. This involved regular meetings with President Crow and the Provost. I have served on university, college, school, and program-level committees. On one such committee, a colleague with whom I have almost nothing in common said, “People are right; you’re a very nice person and good to work with.”

Given that I have out-published and out-performed in grants, you might expect to see me somewhere, featured on ASU’s web pages. You won’t. I am not and have never been featured. I knew this would be my lot when I took the job and observed the discrimination I would face. I don’t do what I do for attention, and this is all the more true because I know what the people who confer that attention are like.

I have had incredible freedom to research and publish what I believe is important. I have taught fun and engaging classes and received stellar student reviews. I have presented my research nationally and internationally at some of the best universities like Princeton and Oxford. Those are the things I wanted to do as a philosopher. But I have never seen a group of people who cry so loudly about discrimination and yet are totally blind to how they are more guilty of this than others.

What made me start drawing attention to the problems at ASU, especially in my School? The atmosphere has always been discriminatory against conservatives and Christians. However, I noticed a gradual worsening beginning in 2008 and then hitting a fever pitch with TDS in 2016. Faculty began using meeting time to plan political rallies and even one time chanting “F— the Republicans!” Persons in leadership roles would speak poorly about Christians. Having reached a senior position and being a philosopher, I decided it was time to speak up.

This first occurred when the director of my school told us we must “decolonize our curriculum.” This director shared with us that he was in the academy to play the long game of imposing his race-based outlook on students. I objected on the grounds of academic freedom. The requirement was changed to a suggestion.

After that, I noticed that these attempts to impose a radical leftist viewpoint became more common. I was the only one in my program or school to speak up. This shows that these professors only care about academic freedom insofar as it serves their purpose but will throw it overboard to achieve their goals. None of them speak up if they are not personally affected. When a colleague insulted evangelicals in a meeting, no one cared, and they event defended him.

Speaking up reached its current form when ASU began requiring DEI training and SafeZone training. The DEI training taught that the problems with the world are “whiteness” and “homophobia.” The SafeZone training taught that there are infinite genders; if you disagree, you are a homophobe, and if you agree, you get a rainbow sticker for your door to show you are a “safe” professor.

As a philosopher, I was thrust into the position of Socrates. Socrates asked his colleagues in Athens if they were wise or only think they were wise. My Christian faith prepared me for the darkness in men’s hearts and for persecution. It taught me that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It taught me that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. It taught me a strong work ethic and not to live out of my feelings. It taught me my chief end and how to orient my life to achieve it. I still believe that sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me. We live in perhaps the easiest time so far in history, and yet radical leftists complain and promote grievance culture.

As adults who claim to be able to teach, these professors need to be asked to show they are wise. To be wise means you know the good and how to achieve the good in daily life. I will keep asking if they are wise, exposing their drift toward totalitarianism, and enjoying my research and teaching.

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