2021 Catherine and Charles Freeburg Fellows
The purpose of the Catherine and Charles Freeburg Fellows Program is to encourage, facilitate, and highlight excellent research in the humanities and cognate disciplines at the University of Memphis. This program allows recipients to write and research in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment alongside other research-active faculty members and advanced doctoral students. By supporting and showcasing the research being conducted by our faculty and students, these fellowships strengthen the ties between the university and local community and demonstrate the vital role played by the humanities in our culture.
The fellows program is named in honor of Catherine and Charles Freeburg, whose bequest funds it. The Freeburgs were involved with the University for many years. Catherine Freeburg received an MA in English in 1972 and taught in the department for a number of years. Charles and Catherine were both active members of the Memphis community and supported many organizations. The couple met when Catherine began working as a realtor for Freeburg and Hammond, Charles' real estate company. They lived on Tuckahoe, very near the UofM, their entire married lives.
Deborah Tollefsen, Philosophy
Professor Tollefsen (PhD, Ohio State University) joined the Philosophy department in 2002. Prior to her PhD, she received a BA in philosophy from St. Anselm College and an MA in philosophy from the University of South Carolina. Her research and teaching interests include philosophy of mind, social epistemology, and social ontology. She has published over 50 articles and book chapters on topics such as joint action, group agency, collective responsibility, group testimony, and group knowledge. Her book Groups as Agents (Polity Press, 2015) is an opinionated introduction to the literature on group agency. She has recently co-edited with Saba Barzagan-Forward the Routledge Handbook of Collective Responsibility (2020).
Dr. Tollefsen has been awarded a professional development assignment (PDA) for the 21-22 academic year as well as Templeton Foundation subgrant to pursue research on collective virtue and vice.