Philosophy scholar serves as Whichard chair

A noted philosophy scholar from Vanderbilt University, Dr. John F. Post, has joined East Carolina University as the Whichard Distinguished Chair of the Humanities for the 1996-97 academic year.

As the second professor to hold the Whichard Chair, Post will teach in the Department of Philosophy. He specializes in logic, rationalism, metaphysics and value theory and is the author of two books and numerous journal articles. He is also a frequent speaker at college seminars and international conferences. He received his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. Byron Coulter, the associate dean of the ECU College of Arts and Sciences, described the appointment of Post as “a tremendous opportunity for East Carolina.”

“Through this endowed chair, we can maintain our commitment to providing students a strong liberal arts education,” he said.

The professorship was established in honor of the late David Julian Whichard, a newspaper publisher, and his wife Virginia Suther Whichard of Greenville. David Whichard served as editor and publisher of The Daily Reflector for 60 years until his death in 1993. Virginia Whichard was a former school teacher and a 1917 graduate of East Carolina. In addition to teaching, Post will conduct a seminar on his work and will present public lectures. He follows Joe Bellamy, an English professor from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N. Y., who held the first Whichard Chair position for two years.