Jerry Schneewind, who joined Pitt with the recruitment of much of the Department of Philosophy in the 1960s and was instrumental, as dean of the faculty of arts and sciences (1969-1973), at the beginning of Pitt’s transformation to a research university with the placement of women and minority faculty in the administration, died Jan. 8, 2024, at 93.
John Beverley, distinguished professor emeritus of Hispanic Languages and Literatures who came to Pitt in 1969, notes that the recruitment of Schneewind, whose academic focus was on ethics, and other prominent philosophers to Pitt “instantly made it one of the most important philosophy departments. He was a big player in the new philosophy department, at a time when things were changing in American life in the university.
“He opened the space for a new generation at Pitt in the 1970s,” as dean, Beverley recalled, helping to place women and Black men in posts in his office. At the time, Pitt “was becoming a more serious research university and it was also the end of the 1960s” with new currents, such as the women's and civil rights movements, that needed to be incorporated into the University, “and he was one of the pioneers in that. His personal generosity, his ability to look forward, helped to integrate a lot of young faculty into Pitt and keep us here. Jerry was extremely supportive for all those faculty. He really brought us into the life of the University quickly and effectively.”
Schneewind also taught at the University of Chicago, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, the University of Leicester and Hunter College, CUNY (where he was provost, 1975-1981). He spent his later years, from 1981 onward, at Johns Hopkins University, where he was professor of philosophy emeritus. He was the author of innovative works in the history of ethics, including “The Invention of Autonomy and Sidgwick's Ethics and Victorian Moral Philosophy,” a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, president of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association and chair of its board of officers.
Born in 1930, Schneewind earned his bachelor's degree from Cornell (1951) and master's and doctorate degrees from Princeton (1953, 1957), as well as Mellon, Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships.
After Schneewind retired, Beverley recalled visits to him in New York: “Jerry at that time of his life was very active in volunteering with immigrants’ rights,” helping with the most practical tasks. “That was very much in his character. He was a very ethical man, very concerned with other people.”
He is survived by daughters Sarah, Rachel (Janelle), and Hannah (Nick); and four grandchildren.
— Marty Levine