By Alice Bampton

Nikolaus (Nik) Fogle, PhD, has joined Falvey as the philosophy librarian and Philosophy, Theology and Humanities team coordinator, positions previously held by Bente Polites, who retired in spring 2012.

As a subject librarian and team coordinator, Dr. Fogle will work with the Augustinian Historical Institute, Augustinian Institute, Center for Peace and Justice Education, Classical Studies Program, Ethics Program, Department of Humanities, Department of Philosophy (including its graduate program), Department of Theology and Religious Studies (including its graduate program) and the Theology Institute.

Dr. Fogle, a native of Wallingford, Pa., attended Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., and transferred to a warmer climate at The University of Arizona, Tucson, where he majored in philosophy and minored in classics, receiving a bachelor’s degree. For his doctorate in philosophy he returned to the east, attending Temple University, Philadelphia. At Temple, Dr. Fogle focused on social/political and continental philosophy. His dissertation was published last year as “The Spatial Logic of Social Struggle”. 

He taught philosophy and urban studies at various universities; his most recent teaching position was at Renmin University of China (People’s University of China), Beijing. Fogle says, “The main thing that struck me about Chinese students was their degree of focus and dedication.”

Dr. Fogle will be participating in the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, beginning his fellowship in July 2013. CLIR Postdoctoral Fellowships provide recent PhDs “a unique opportunity to develop expertise in the new forms of scholarly research and the information resources that support them ….”

Dr. Fogle’s hobbies are traveling, experiencing new cultures, and discovering exciting and delicious things to eat. “I live for good books and good conversations. I can really nerd out, too. I’m a big fan of Doctor Who,” he says. “I’m really grateful for the warm welcome I’ve received from everyone here at Villanova [University]. I can’t imagine a better place to be.”