“There are millions of people out there who appreciate the kind of philosophy we teach at UNCG, and I just can’t help myself,” the professor says as he attempts to contain his enthusiasm. “I just have to get it out there.”
This is how Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan approaches his life’s work as a philosophy teacher. At UNC Greensboro he’s an animated professor who brings difficult concepts to life, but his reach extends beyond the halls of the Curry building.
And this desire to go above and beyond has earned him the highest honor a state employee can receive, a 2024 North Carolina Governor’s Award for Excellence.
Tops in the State
The award, in the human relations category, was presented to Kaplan at a ceremony in Raleigh on October 15. Six awards were given to nominated state employees who represent a workforce of 56,883 in North Carolina. Kaplan and Michael Rogers from UNC Charlotte were the two award-winning UNC System employees representing 20,378 total university employees in North Carolina.
Wade Maki, chair of the UNC Faculty Assembly and a fellow faculty member in Kaplan’s department, nominated him last spring to recognize the impact of Kaplan’s philosophy videos on YouTube and his development of the UNCG Prison Education Program.
“Being a graduate of Berkeley, Jeff could have taken his talents anywhere, and we are so glad that he came to North Carolina and to UNCG, where he could have an impact with our students, our state, and those who really need access to education and can’t come to us,” Maki says.
Taking Philosophy to the Masses
Students who have taken a philosophy class at UNCG might be familiar with Kaplan’s energy for complex topics like Russell’s paradox. Two years ago, he searched the internet for a video that might help explain the paradox for his students. Out of frustration, he decided to make his own and today that video has more than 7 million views.
Since then, he’s edited about 100 philosophy videos on YouTube, which have garnered over 25 million views. Kaplan gets emails every day from viewers. “It would probably take me five hours a day to respond to them all,” he says. “But it does say something about the reach of the videos, and it says something about the enthusiasm that people have for philosophy.”
Access to Educational Impact
Reach is something that Kaplan spends lots of time considering, and it’s the primary impetus for his development of the UNCG Prison Education Program.
“There should be more access to higher education throughout our country and our world,” Kaplan says. “But if you had to pick a group that has the least amount of access, it would be incarcerated people.”
In September of 2022, Kaplan gave his first philosophy lecture in the Butner Correctional Facility and since then, UNCG professors have led classes for incarcerated men there each month. Most recently, Lloyd International Honors students have organized a writing workshop as part of the program.
Jeff Dunne, a creative writing teacher in the English department, has signed on as Kaplan’s assistant in the program. “Jeff has an amazing commitment to making this grow,” Dunne explains. “He is always asking the incarcerated guys what kinds of lectures they want to hear. And he’s also always reaching out to faculty on campus, to try to get a bigger bank of people he can draw on to help him.”
Spartan Philosophy Goes Global
The result of Kaplan’s devotion is a human relations impact that extends beyond his students at UNCG, which has now been recognized by the governor of North Carolina.
Dunne echoes colleagues and UNCG students who are proud to call Kaplan a fellow Spartan: “Jeff is never just in it to teach his students and go. He views the lessons he teaches as vital enough that the whole world should learn them.”
Story by Becky Deakins, University Communications.
Photography by Sean Norona, University Communications.
Video by Grant Gilliard, University Communications.
