I am the Glynn Family Honors Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Notre Dame, the university from which I received my B.A. in 1981. I earned my Master's and Ph.D. in philosophy at Harvard, where I wrote my doctoral dissertation under the direction of John Rawls and Judith Shklar. I joined the faculty at the University of Notre Dame in 1991.

I work primarily in political philosophy but I have also worked in moral philosophy, religious ethics, medieval political theory and the philosophy of education. I chaired the Philosophy Department between 2001 and 2007. I currently direct the interdisciplinary minor in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and co-directed the Glynn Family Honors Program from 2014 to 2021. I have won a Kaneb Teaching Award, a Joyce Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Thomas P. Madden Award for the Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen. If you'd like to learn more about my research or classes, click on one of the links above.