Faculty member Nina Emery awarded inaugural Lisska Prize

Nina Emery, associate professor of philosophy at Mount Holyoke College, has been awarded the inaugural Anthony J. Lisska Prize from the American Philosophical Association (APA).

The Lisska Prize honors the legacy of Anthony J. Lisska (1940-2022), who taught at Denison University for 52 years. This prize is awarded in recognition of exemplary contributions to the scholarly mission of small liberal arts colleges through philosophical research and teaching.

“I’m honored to be the recipient of the inaugural Lisska Prize, and I’m grateful to Mount Holyoke, and especially my colleagues in the philosophy department, for creating an environment where I have been able to thrive as both a scholar and a teacher,” Emery said. “Many faculty have to choose which to prioritize — their research or their teaching — but my position at Mount Holyoke has allowed me to stay committed to both, and in a way that allows them to build on one another. My research shapes the classes that I teach, and my teaching inspires new research topics and projects, and both are stronger as a result of the interaction between the two.”

“Nina Emery’s prestigious award from the APA recognizes her consummate excellence in research and teaching,” said Lisa Sullivan, provost and dean of faculty. “She is a vital and vibrant mentor and scholar, and we are very fortunate to have her with us in the Mount Holyoke community.”

Emery’s research is at the intersection of philosophy and physics, with a focus on questions about the nature of time, space, possibility and probability. She previously served as the president of the Society for the Metaphysics of Science and is currently the president of the Philosophy of Time Society. Her first book, “Naturalism Beyond the Limits of Science,” was published by Oxford University Press in 2023.