How Philosophy at UGA Wrote Adam Cureton’s Love Story

Philosophy, at its core Greek translation, is the love of wisdom (philo = love, sophia = wisdom). While Franklin College alumnus Adam Cureton’s life exemplifies that love of wisdom, it also is an example of an old-fashioned University of Georgia love story.

Cureton (AB Philosophy `03, AB Political Theory `03, AB Evolutionary Theory `03, MA Philosophy `03) received his ticket into the University of Georgia in 1999, when he learned of the Foundation Fellows Program from a UGA recruiter. However, an interest in UGA had already been planted. “My father was in the military while I was growing up, but our family always loved Georgia, where my father was stationed three separate times,” Cureton said. “Beyond the amazing opportunities provided by that scholarship, I wanted to attend a large university where I could pursue a wide variety of academic interests and interact with diverse groups of people.”

While a student at UGA, Cureton became a Foundation Fellow in the Honors Program, renamed the Morehead Honors College in 2021, and later, a recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship that allowed him to study at the University of Oxford. These experiences shaped Cureton’s education and ultimately introduced him to the subject of philosophy. 

“The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the Honors Program and the Foundation Fellows Program provided an ideal environment for me to pursue my interdisciplinary interests while also delving deeply into a traditional academic discipline,” he said. “I discovered philosophy during my first semester at UGA and spent the next four years immersing myself in fascinating abstract questions about truth, goodness and beauty as well as seeking connections between philosophy and practical issues.”

Cureton acknowledges the positive environment that surrounded him as he decided to study philosophy. “I was extremely fortunate, in particular, to be part of the amazingly supportive, engaging and diverse philosophical community at UGA. I am grateful to many wonderful teachers and advisors I had,” he said. “What most stands out for me about the Department of Philosophy at UGA is the generous community of interesting people from different perspectives who were committed to bringing the best of philosophy to their students.”

During his sophomore year, Adam met his now wife, Julie (BSED Health Promotion and Education `02) at a UGA football game—and it was love at first touchdown. “From then on, we attended most home games together along with many of the men’s and women’s basketball games,” said Cureton. Little did the couple know, Sanford Stadium would one day become much more than a football stadium.

Fast forward to Cureton’s senior year, when he was awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. With this award came access to Sanford Stadium on a weekday. “I asked Julie to come with me for a photo shoot as part of publicizing my award.  She had no idea what I was planning, but, thankfully, I had enough sense to ask her to dress up in case they wanted pictures of both of us.  I took her and the photographers to the spot in the stands where Julie and I first met over two years earlier and proposed to her as cameras flashed. This was a very special moment for me and Julie that cemented our lifelong connection to UGA.”

The learning community at Franklin not only encouraged Cureton, but also prepared him for experiences beyond UGA’s Athens campus, specifically at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholarship recipient. 

“UGA prepared me to thrive in one of the most demanding and rigorous programs at Oxford University,” he says. “The degree in Philosophy allowed me to work closely with some of the best philosophical minds in the world. The communication and thinking skills I developed at UGA in courses, independent studies and undergraduate research put me in a position to hone my philosophical skills.” Outside of academics, the Rhodes experience allowed Cureton and his wife to immerse themselves in England by gathering with other Rhodes Scholars, visiting the UGA at Oxford house and traveling throughout Europe. 

Today, Cureton works as the Lindsay Young Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tennessee. His work focuses on the philosophy of disability—specifically on the ethics of informal attitudes towards people with disabilities and how disabled people should aspire to regard and treat themselves. 

“I have been legally blind since birth but fully ‘came out’ as disabled only in graduate school when I began studying philosophical issues of disability in earnest,” he said. "My time hiding my disability as well as my time since then as an openly disabled person have made me acutely aware of the often ignorant, awkward, dismissive, pitying and patronizing attitudes that many people have towards those who are disabled. Focusing on respect and its interactions with attitudes of care, justice, and solidarity enhances our understanding of disability as a core feature of the human condition.” 

Cureton also focuses heavily on disability scholarship and is widely published within the field. He is co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Disability, and is also finishing a book on respect for people with disabilities. Additionally, Cureton was recently awarded the University of Tennessee’s top faculty research award for his work in this area and is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Philosophy of Disability. 

“In my career, I am most proud of supporting and engaging with issues of disability scholarship and advocacy,” he said.

At the University of Tennessee, he is very involved in the areas of philosophy and disability with both students and faculty. In regard to student-facing efforts, he has initiated a Philosophy of Science and Medicine minor, as well as courses in the philosophy of disability and ethics and emerging technologies. A faculty advisor for two disabled student groups, Cureton also serves on the Chancellor’s Commission for Diversity and Inclusion and helped to found the Chancellor’s Commission for Disability. 

Amidst these many efforts, Cureton remains inspired by those who came before him during his time at the University of Georgia. “I have been very fortunate to have had many wonderful teachers, including ones at UGA, who continue to inspire me by their selflessness, creativity, intellect, and commitment to the value of Philosophy inside and outside academia.” As for advice to recent graduates and young alumni, Cureton suggests “taking time to reflect on the big questions of life, including what makes for a meaningful life, what is it to flourish as a person and what justice and respect require of us.” 

Image: Adam Cureton.