The McClellan Philosophy Essay Award

An annual award honoring Dr. James E. McClellan, Jr. conferred on the undergraduate authors of four outstanding essays in philosophy. The 2020 James McClellan Philosophy Essay Competition There will be a total of four prizes, two for lower and two for upper division courses. The award for each prize is $100. We invite for submission papers which exhibit clarity of argumentation, rigor and philosophical insight. There are no length requirements, nor is there any restriction to any area of philosophy. For the lower division level, all current students who have written a paper in such a TAMUCC philosophy course are eligible to compete. For the upper division level, the entrants to the competition must be current philosophy majors or minors whose essay was written for a TAMUCC upper level philosophy course. No more than one essay per author will be considered across the two levels. To enter, please submit a copy of your essay along with the assignment prompt to the following email address by February 28th, 2020: philwritingcc@gmail.com Submissions should be prepared for anonymous review (i.e., all references to the author in the body of the paper should be removed, and there should be a cover page including the following information: author name, major and minor, year in school, and title of the paper; the cover page, the essay and the assignment prompt should all be part of one and the same document). Submissions will be reviewed by a panel consisting of philosophy faculty members, who will make final decisions by February, 2020. Dr. James E. McClellan, Jr. TEXAS STATE SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 484 In Memory of Dr. James E. McClellan, Jr.

WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas joins the citizens of Corpus Christi in mourning the loss of Dr. James E. McClellan, Jr., who died on March 6, 2001, at the age of 78; and

WHEREAS, A native of Temple, Texas, he attended Rice University from 1941 to 1943 when his studies were interrupted so he could serve his country honorably in the United States Navy during World War II with the rank of ensign; and

WHEREAS, Dr. McClellan trained as a pilot at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and decided that he would someday return to the city to live; in 1945, during his Navy service, Dr. McClellan used his fluency in Spanish as a liaison officer in Cuba at Guantanamo Bay; and

WHEREAS, In 1949 he once again resumed his studies and earned a bachelor of science degree from The University of Texas; from 1950 to 1955 he worked diligently to earn master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Illinois, Champaign‑Urbana; and

WHEREAS, In 1953 Dr. McClellan began his teaching career at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he taught for one year; for the next 34 years, Dr. McClellan went on to be a professor at the following colleges and universities: Teachers College, Columbia University, Temple University, and the State University of New York at Albany; during this time he also taught courses at such distinguished universities as Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Cornell, and Syracuse; he served as a consultant to the United States Office of Economic Opportunity, the State of New Jersey Department of Education, and the Educational Policy Research Center at Syracuse University; and

WHEREAS, His knowledge and experience allowed him to author three books on educational philosophy as well as author hundreds of scholarly articles, and he was a founding member of the national Philosophy of Education Society; and

WHEREAS, A former Guggenheim Fellow and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy of Education at the State University of New York at Albany, Dr. McClellan first served as a Visiting Professor of Philosophy of Education at Texas A&M University‑Corpus Christi in 1987; and

WHEREAS, Dr. McClellan helped in establishing the first doctoral program at Texas A&M‑Corpus Christi in Educational Leadership, and, in addition to this great achievement, he also helped establish a faculty exchange program between Texas A&M University‑Corpus Christi and Moscow State University in Russia; to add to his accomplishments, Dr. McClellan continued his contributions to Texas A&M‑Corpus Christi and helped establish a university policy requiring all undergraduate students to take a course in professional ethics; and

WHEREAS, Dr. McClellan taught the first philosophy courses offered by the university in the College of Education and College of Arts and Humanities; and

WHEREAS, Dr. McClellan was praised for his generosity to his family, friends, and colleagues, and he had a passionate approach to all things he loved from his enjoyment in debating philosophical theories to his favorite pastime of playing croquet; and

WHEREAS, Throughout his lengthy career, Dr. McClellan was loyally supported by his lovely wife and colleague of 28 years, Dorothy Spektorov McClellan; he is also survived by four sons, four grandchildren, and one sister; and

WHEREAS, Dr. McClellan leaves a legacy of compassion and commitment that will remain cherished by all who shared his life; he will be greatly missed; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 77th Legislature, hereby extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: his wife, Dorothy; his children, James, John, Murray, and Bruce; his four grandchildren; and his sister, Ann; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for the family of Dr. James E. McClellan, Jr., as an expression of deepest sympathy from the Texas Senate, and that when the Senate adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Dr. James E. McClellan, Jr.