Lori Keleher

As a fourth generation New Mexican I am proud to be an associate professor in the philosophy department at New Mexico State University. NMSU is a land grant and minority serving institution located just 45 minutes north or the US Mexico border in sunny Las Cruces, New Mexico. 

I have a personal and professional interest of building bridges between theory and practice by using philosophy to understand and promote human flourishing, or the good life.  To this end, much of my research is focused on development ethics, including themes of empowerment, the capabilities approach, and integral human development.  In my efforts in writing, presenting, and publishing academic papers, I try to discuss philosophical theory in an accessible way that is helpful to both academics and to international development practitioners. My other research interests include ancient philosophy, social political philosophy, feminism, and questions of the good life.

With Jay Drydyk I am the co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of Development Ethics (Francis and Taylor, 2019). With Stacy Kosko I am the coeditor of Agency and Democracy in Development Ethics (Cambridge University Press, 2019).  

I have served on the executive board of the International Development Ethics Association since 2006 and am now the Vice President of IDEA. I was a co-coordinator of the Human Development Capabilities Association's Ethics and Development Thematic Group since the group was formed in 2007 until 2016, and now serve as an At-Large Member of the Executive Council and a an HDCA Fellow. Before completing my Ph.D. (at the University of Maryland) I worked for the economic consulting firm Development Alternatives Incorporated .

I teach three undergraduate courses every semester.  I have taught the following courses: Honors 227: Plato; Philosophy 100: Philosophy, Law and Ethics; Philosophy 101: Art of Wondering; Philosophy 223: Ethics; Philosophy 302: Business Ethics; Philosophy 325: Feminist Topics in Philosophy; Philosophy 332: Ethics and Global Poverty; Philosophy 341: Ancient Philosophy; Philosophy 342: Medieval Philosophy; Philosophy 381: Human Nature and the Good Life; and Philosophy 532: Advanced Ethics and Global Poverty.

In addition to philosophy and development ethics, I love spending time with my family, traveling, teaching philosophy for children, and the trails of the Organ Mountains.