Academic X’cellence: Sharing stories from our inspiring StFX community
It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with StFX that our campus is filled with highly engaged students, educators, researchers, and leaders. Academic X’cellence shines a spotlight on members of our educational community to find out more about their unique experiences—both inside and outside of the classroom. (To see the full series, please click HERE.)
Here we meet Dr. Steve Baldner, who has taught philosophy at StFX since 1992. In the past 30-plus years, Dr. Baldner has been one of StFX’s greatest ambassadors, who has made numerous contributions to the university. Dr. Baldner served four years as Dean of Arts and he was a driving force helping to launch StFX’s Humanities Colloquium. He restarted the Classics program at StFX, and in 2009, with the StFX Alumni Association, he started offering an annual one-week summer course called Classics for Classics, which has grown so much in popularity that StFX alumni plan their summer vacations around it. Some participants have said it even ranked higher than their trip to the Grand Canyon! Dr. Baldner is a recipient of the StFX Outstanding Teaching Award and was celebrated in 2014 with an honorary X-Ring, a huge honour presented every year on StFX Day, during the highly anticipated X-Ring ceremony. In the classroom, Dr. Baldner strives to help students develop the habit of thinking carefully about fundamental problems.
Dr. Steve Baldner: Introducing students to timeless wisdom
Tell us about yourself.
I completed my PhD in mediaeval studies and philosophy in 1982 at the University of Toronto. I have been a full-time university professor since 1981:
• 1981-84 at Cardinal Muench Seminary, Fargo, North Dakota. In this very small undergraduate seminary program, I was a one-man philosophy department, teaching everything from Plato to existentialism. I also taught Latin there.
• 1984-92, St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan. I was one of a five-member philosophy department.
• 1992-Present. St. Francis Xavier University, Department of Philosophy. I was Dean of Arts, 2006-10; Chair of the Department, 2013-17. I teach introductory philosophy every year. I regularly teach Mediaeval Philosophy, Modern Philosophy (17-18th Centuries), and the Philosophy of Science. I have often taught the Philosophy of Religion and Ethics.
What drives you in your teaching?
Philosophical problems are basic to any intellectual life. No thoughtful person can neglect the big, fundamental problems dealt with in philosophy. It is exciting every year to introduce young adults to these problems in a disciplined and rigorous way. I believe that the philosophical masters (Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Kant, etc.) are the best teachers of philosophy. I want to introduce students to timeless wisdom from thinkers whose greatness has been confirmed by the ages.
What impact do you hope your teaching will have?
I hope to be able to start students on an intellectual life. Only a very few students will go on to advanced (graduate) study in philosophy. My hope is that all of my students will begin an intellectual process that can continue through the rest of their lives. I hope that our students can develop the habit of thinking carefully about fundamental problems and that they can learn to comprehend the thought of difficult thinkers.
Could you talk about any innovations in your classroom or research?
In 2008, under my direction as Dean of Arts, a group of colleagues launched the Humanities Colloquium (HC). This has been a very successful first-year program, a way for students to study three subjects (English, history, and philosophy) in an historically and thematically coordinated way. The three subjects reinforce each other, and the students in the HC become a cohort in which the students help one another to learn.
In 2009, I started offering a one-week summer course called Classics for Classics (CFC), which is sponsored by the StFX Alumni Office. The idea of this program is to find a text that can be studied in one week. We’ve read Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Boethius, Aquinas, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and many more. We meet in early July for one week; in the mornings I lecture on an assigned reading; in the afternoons five different colleagues give lectures on topics of some relevance to the author we are studying. It has been a fabulous success. In the first year 30 participants (mostly alumni) came; that number has grown to 70. People plan their vacation times around this week, and strong friendships have grown. The success of CFC shows that people are hungry for the intellectual life; they want to learn and to understand some of the great thinkers in our tradition.
In 1995, I restarted the Classics program at StFX. For years, I served as Coordinator of this program and taught introductory Latin and second-year Latin as overloads. Colleagues from the Departments of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and History have also contributed Greek and Latin courses. We have kept the classical languages alive at X.
In 1998, under the direction of Dean of Arts, Ken Den Heyer, I designed the Catholic Studies Program. When this program was approved, I became its coordinator and have served in that role subsequently and have taught courses in the program.
I have published articles on important figures in the Scholastic period, especially Thomas Aquinas, Albert the Great, and Bonaventure. Lately, I have also been working on early modern figures, such as Francisco Suarez and Descartes. I have published two translations, Aquinas on Creation, and Thomas Aquinas, Basic Philosophical Writing.
Are there awards, accomplishments or involvements to mention?
I received the StFX Outstanding Teaching Award, 2004. On December 3, 2013, I received the Honorary X-Ring. This honour comes from the alumni and students; it was a recognition, in large part, of the success of Classics for Classics.
What drew you to teaching, and at the post-secondary level?
I had the wonderful experience of some excellent professors who taught me, at both the undergraduate and the graduate level. I wanted to do for others what they so generously did for me.
What excites you about teaching at StFX?
StFX students feel that they are a part of a community to which they have a commitment. This gives everyone a sense that we are working together on a shared project.
What’s something surprising about yourself?
My best philosophical critic and interlocutor is my wife. We’ve been arguing about philosophical problems for over 45 years – it seems to keep us together. Not surprising, but well worth mentioning: any achievements of mine are made possible by my outstanding colleagues in Philosophy. My departmental colleagues are intellectually superior, well educated, completely supportive, and humorous. We enjoy real friendships in the intellectual life. It is a pleasure to be with them.
