Bill Frank, professor of philosophy, has taught at the University of Dallas since fall 1986. Among his special interests and competencies he counts the history of medieval philosophy, Duns Scotus, the philosophy of education, and contemporary Catholic philosophy and social teaching.

As for his education, after attending primary and secondary schools in Hampton, Virginia, Bill attended Hampton Institute, a prominent historically black college, from which he received a B.A. with a major in philosophy and a minor in mathematics. It was at The Catholic University of America that he subsequently received his M.A. in philosophy with a thesis on Robert Grosseteste's commentary on the Posterior Analytics, under the direction of William A. Wallace, O.P., and the Ph.D. with a dissertation on John Duns Scotus's doctrine of the will, under the direction of Allan B. Wolter, O.F.M.

During his time at the University of Dallas, Bill has twice served as chair of the Philosophy of Department. For a brief period he was director of the Institute of Philosophical Studies and dean of Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts. It was his great privilege to serve three tours of duty on UD's Rome campuses, 1988−89, 1996−99, and 2003−05. For five of those 12 semesters he served as Academic Director. Bill served three consecutive terms as Chair of the Faculty Senate, 2014-2017.

Prior to his appointment at UD, he taught philosophy at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas for nine years. He counts it a blessing that before establishing himself in the academy he had briefly taught in both elementary (5th grade) and secondary schools (mathematics in a Washington D. C. inner-city high school). In tougher economic times, the need for moonlight income led to some of his more memorable teaching experiences in the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth and the U.S. Military's Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth.

Bill is married to Therese Chicherio, together they've raised five children, four of whom are alums of the University of Dallas.

Medieval philosophy, Duns Scotus, the philosophy of education, and contemporary Catholic philosophy and social teaching

Medieval philosophy, Duns Scotus, the philosophy of education, and contemporary Catholic philosophy and social teaching

Books

The Anti-Emile: Reflections on the Theory and Practice of Education against the Principles of Rousseau by Hyacinth Sigismond Gerdil. An English Translation, with Introduction and Notes by William A. Frank. Preface by Rocco Buttiglione (South Bend, Ind.: St Augustine Press, 2011).

Duns Scotus, Metaphysician. Co-authored with Allan B. Wolter. Purdue University Press Series in the History of Philosophy. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 1995.

Edited, with Preface to, Translation Edition of Duns Scotus on the Will and Morality by Allan B. Wolter. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1997.

Articles

Co-authored with Clare P. Frank, "Raphael Sanzio, Tommaso "Fedra" Inghirami, and Pope Julius II at the Stanza della Segnatura (1508-1511)" in People and Places of the Roman Past, ed. by Peter Hatlie (Leeds, UK: ARC Humanities, 2019): 210-22.

"Medicine's Interest in Abortion," Life & Learning: UFL Conference XXVII (2018): 255-63.

“Personal Being and the Principle of Subsidiarity” in Besinnung auf das Subsidiaritätsprinzip / Reflections on the Principle of Subsidiarity, edited by Anton Rauscher (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2015), pp 19-34.

“Cicero, Retrieving the Honorable,” Studia Gilsoniana 3 (2014): 63-84.

"The Personalist Dimensions of Property," in Das Eigentum al eine Bedingung der Freiheit / Property as a Condition of Freedom, edited by Anton Raushcer (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2013), pp 37-57.

"An Essay in American Liberal Education: University of Dallas's 'Core Curriculum,'" in The College Curriculum: A Reader, ed. by Joseph Devitis (New York: Land, 2013), pp 125-39.

"A Reading of Augustine's Confessions and Its Implications for Education" Arts of Liberty Journal 1, no. 1 (2013):26-50. Online at https://artsofliberty.udallas.edu/

"Duns Scotus and the Recognition of Divine Liberality," in Archa Verbi. The Opera Theologica of John Duns Scotus, ed. by Richard Cross (Münster: Aschendorff and St Bonaventure NY: Franciscan Institute, 2012), pp 53-72.

"Tolerance and the Autonomous Individual in Modern Democratic Liberalism," in Toleranz und Menschenwürde / Tolerance and Human Dignity, ed. by Anton Rauscher (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2011) pp 341-56.

"Cicero's Civic Metaphysics As a Basis for Responsibility," In Verantwortung in einer komplexen Gesellschaft – Responsibility: Recognition and Limits. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2010: 175–91.

"Authority and the Common Good in Democratic Governance." Review of Metaphysics 60 (June 2007): 813–32.

"Western Irreligion and Resources for Culture in Catholic Religion." Logos 7:1 (2004): 17–44.

"Duns Scotus' Concept of Willing Freely: What Divine Freedom Beyond Choice Teaches Us." Franciscan Studies 42 (1982): 68–89.