Professor Hayden Ramsay is Provost of the Sydney Campus and Executive Dean of Philosophy and Theology. He is also Professor of Philosophy and Ethics in the University. Hayden came to Australia from Scotland in 1994. Previously, he studied philosophy at the University of Edinburgh and taught philosophy both there and at Stirling University in Scotland. Hayden worked for five years at Melbourne University and La Trobe University before beginning teaching in the Archdiocese of Melbourne at Catholic Theological College and John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family. He moved to Sydney in 2003, teaching at Catholic Institute of Sydney and in Good Shepherd Seminary and then moved to Notre Dame. From 1998 until 2007 Hayden also served as an academic on the Personal Staff of the Archbishops of Melbourne and then of Sydney. Hayden has published several books and many articles in philosophy, mainly in ethics. He teaches in a number of areas of philosophy and believes passionately in the universal importance of basic philosophical thinking. His great academic interest is in the relation between a strong mind and a strong faith.
Paul Morrissey is Lecturer in Theology at Notre Dame. For ten years he taught Religion, History and English at Secondary Schools in Melbourne while at the same time completing Theology studies at Catholic Theological College (BTheol) and the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family (STL). Paul’s research interests include: Twentieth century Catholic Theology, Theological Aesthetics, the relationship between faith and culture, Spirituality, and the new evangelisation. On a personal level he enjoys spending time with his young family, a good book, fine food, and most things of a sporting nature.
Mr Robert Anderson, BA Hons 1 (UNE), PhD Candidate (UNE)
Robert Anderson has a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree with a double major in
philosophy from the University of New England. His honours thesis was a
critique of the Christian Philosopher - Alvin Plantinga's Reformed
Epistemology. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of New
England, researching the compatibility problem between divine foreknowledge
and human freedom, (under the supervision of Professor Peter Forrest).
Robert has tutored in critical thinking, formal logic and the philosophy of
religion at Macquarie University and worked as a research assistant there
for Dr Greg Restall.
His interests are metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of religion, logic
and critical thinking. Robert's professional background is in broadcast
engineering.
Dr Angus Brook, BA Hons (Syd), M.A Merit (Syd), PhD (Syd), Grad.Dip.Ed (ACU)
Angus Brook is Lecturer in Philosophy at the Sydney Campus of The University of Notre Dame Australia. His research interests are: Metaphysics, Ontology, Phenomenology, Philosophy of Religion, and Ethics. He has published various journal articles and research papers, including: ‘The Potentiality of Authenticity in Becoming a Teacher’, Educational Philosophy and Theory (Special Issue on Phenomenology), ‘Martin Heidegger’s Path to an Aesthetic Ethos’, Martin Heidegger and the Aesthetics of Living, SSLA, 2005, ‘The Question of the Meaning of Religion’, AASR, 2005, and Webb, C., Way, J. & Brook, A. (2005). Innovation and E-learning in Australian Primary Schools: Innovation in Literacy and Numeracy using e-Learning in Australian Primary Schools 2002
Rev Dr Richard Umbers, BEc (Syd) BTh (Rome) MMS (Distinction) (Waikato) PhD
(Navarre)
Rev Dr Richard Umbers is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei. He
holds a doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Navarre
examining the contributions of Linda Zagebski to the growing field of
Virtue Epistemology. Dr Umbers is himself a contributor to research in
this field with articles in the Southern Journal of Philosophy and the
Anuario Filosofico. Prior to his Vatican translation work and
theological studies in Rome, Dr Umbers completed a Masters in
Management in New Zealand and spent a year as an environmental
economist for the local government in Auckland.
Fr Richard is currently Chaplain to Redfield College in Dural and
Nairana Study Centre in Pennant Hills. As well as his role as
spiritual director for the Notre Dame St Thomas More Society, he is
also one of a team of spiritual directors for the Good Shepherd
Seminary in Strathfield and is often called upon to act as a retreat
master for high school and university students.
