Director

Daniel Jacobson

Daniel Jacobson

Director • Bruce D. Benson Professor of Philosophy
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Daniel Jacobson works on a range of topics in ethics, moral psychology, aesthetics, and the moral and political philosophy of J. S. Mill. He has published extensively on issues concerning sentimentalism, the philosophy of emotion, and freedom of speech. Jacobson has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Council of Learned Societies, and the Princeton University Center for Human Values. He founded and headed the Freedom and...

Associate Faculty Director

Taylor Jaworski

Taylor Jaworski

Associate Faculty Director
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Taylor Jaworski is an associate professor in the Department of Economics. His research and teaching interests are in economic history and economic geography. Jaworski has been a regular participant in Benson Center faculty seminars and a host/panelist in several events including lectures with Jared Rubin , Noel Johnson , and the Hamilton: The Man Behind the Musical CU faculty panel discussion. Jaworski received his BA from The George Washington University,...

External Relations Manager

AJ Shively

Alexander (AJ) Shively

External Relations Manager
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization

Sabbatical Fellows

Kathryn E. Davis

Kathryn Davis

Roubos Sabbatical Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Kathryn E. Davis is the Roubos Sabbatical Fellow for the 2023 calendar year. Kathryn E. Davis (PhD, University of Dallas) is an Associate Professor of English and Co-Director of the Classical Education in Rome Summer Program at the University of Dallas (UD). She was named the 2022 Haggar Fellow, an honor awarded annually to a junior faculty member nominated by faculty colleagues for excellence in teaching. She is a member...
Jennifer Smith

Jennifer Smith

Sabbatical Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
J.A.T. Smith is a sabbatical fellow for the 2022-23 academic year. Jennifer Smith (PhD, UCLA) is an Associate Professor of English, Coordinator and founder of the Digital Humanities Minor, and the Associate Director of the Center for Faith and Learning at Pepperdine University. In her time there, she has received an award for excellence in teaching as well as a major grant to develop a Christian pedagogical app called The...

Faculty Fellows

Matthew Burgess

Matthew Burgess

2022-23 Faculty Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Matthew Burgess is an assistant professor in the Environmental Studies Program, a faculty affiliate in Economics, and a fellow at the Cooperative Institute in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). His research interests are economic growth futures and their environmental impacts, natural resource management and conservation, mathematical modeling of human-environment systems, and political polarization of environmental issues. Burgess has worked extensively on promoting intellectual diversity and dialog on campus, including organizing the CU...
Paul Diduch

Paul Diduch

2022-23 Faculty Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Paul Diduch is an instructor in the Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics & Society and directs the Herbst Certificate for Engineering, Ethics & Society and the Herbst “Culture Wars in Rome” study abroad program at CU Boulder. Diduch considers himself first and primarily a scholar of ancient philosophy, mainly Platonic philosophy, and secondarily a student, teacher, and researcher of the history and philosophy of science, with special emphasis on the...
Benjamin Teitelbaum

Benjamin Teitelbaum

2022-23 Faculty Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Benjamin Teitelbaum is associate professor of Ethnomusicology, International Affairs. For over a decade, he has worked as an ethnographer of European reactionary intellectualism and rightwing expressive culture. Teitelbaum says, "Having long rejected standard imperatives to research these topics as an activist, I have come to value with heightened urgency principles for which the Benson Center is a primary ambassador on campus, namely, free speech and free inquiry."

Administrative Assistant

Jeff Steele

Jeff Steele

Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
History, '22

Student Interns

Alisa Johnson

Alisa Johnson

Project Management Intern
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Alisa is a senior graduating in December of 2023. She is majoring in Economics and Violin Performance and also minoring in Mathematics.
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Matthew Ruiz Diaz

Project Management Intern
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Matthew is graduating in May 2023. He is majoring in Computer Science with a focus in Software Development.