Vita

 

Senior Research Fellow, 

Director of Human Rights Programs
Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict
Blavatnik School of Government
University of Oxford (Merton College SCR) 
cheyney.ryan@bsg.ox.ac.uk

Emeritus Professor,
Philosophy and Law 
University of Oregon 
cryan@uoregon.edu

Co-Chair and Co-Founder,
Oxford Consortium on Human Rights 


Awards and Recognition

 
  • Named by Washington Post as one of nation's twenty leading scholars "on the frontier of peace and conflict studies”, 1992.

  • Joseph J. Blau Prize, awarded by Society for Advancement of American Philosophy for the most significant contribution to history of American philosophy, 2003.

  • My article, “Pacifism, Self Defense, and the Possibility of Killing” chosen as one of the ten best articles published in 1983, by the Philosopher’s Annual

  • Charles E. Johnson Memorial Faculty Award, 1993.

  • An award in my honor, “The Cheyney Ryan Peace and Conflict Essay Contest”, was started by the U of Oregon Graduate Program in Conflict Resolution in 2010

  • Humanitarian of the Year, Oregon Jewish Federation, 1996

  • Grassroots Award, McKenzie River Gathering Foundation, 1989

  • Annual Human Rights Award, Oregon Human Rights Coalition, 1993

  • University of Oregon President’s Diversity Award, 2002

  • University of Oregon Student Advocate Award (for promoting diversity), 2003

  • Mortar Board Teacher of the Year (W twice, in 1988 and 1996)

  • Honorary Degree in Humane Letters from Quinnipiac University, May 2021



Education

 

Undergraduate:

Harvard College  1966-1969  (Phi Beta Kappa, 1969)   

Graduate:

Harvard University; Boston University M.A. 1973, Ph.D.  1974  Topic:  "Value, Capital, and Crisis:  A Study in Philosophy and Economics"

(Advisors: Alasdair MacIntyre, Marx Wartofsky, Thomas
McCarthy, Howard Zinn) 

Law School:

Harvard Law School, Law and Humanities Fellow 1980-1982


 

Areas of Specialization

 

Social and political philosophy; philosophy of law; peace studies and philosophy of conflict resolution; philosophy of film.

Philosophy of social science; contemporary continental philosophy; ethics.  



Academic Positions

 
  • 2017  Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University

  • 2015 Co-Chair, Oxford Consortium on Human Rights.  

  • 2015 Director of Human Rights Programs, Institute on Ethic, Law, and Armed Conflict, Oxford University

  • 2010-16 Senior Research Fellow, Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University  

  • 2010 Senior Visiting Fellow, Department of Politics, Oxford University   

  • 2010 Senior Fellow and Global Ethics Fellow, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs         

  • 2008 Visiting Research Fellow, Merton College, Oxford University 

  • 2008 Senior Visiting Fellow, Leverhulme Program on the Changing Character of War, Oxford University 

  • 2004-2012 Professor of Law, Graduate Program in Conflict Resolution, University of Oregon Law School  

  • 2004 Co-Founder, Graduate Program in Conflict Resolution, University of Oregon  Law School

  • 2000-2004 Robert Clark Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Critical Thinking  

  • 1990 Professor, Philosophy Department, University of Oregon 

  • 1992 Visiting Professor, Spark Matsunaga Institute, University of Hawaii       

  • 1986 Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Peace Studies Committee, University of Oregon                                                          

  • 1983-1988 Head, Philosophy Department, University of Oregon. 

  • 1981-1989 Associate Professor, Philosophy Department, University of Oregon

  • 1980-1982 Law and Humanities Fellow, Harvard Law School

  • 1980  Visiting Assistant Professor, Philosophy, Department, Northwestern University

  • 1974-1980 Assistant Professor, Philosophy Department, University of Oregon

  • 1973-1974 Lecturer, Department of Political Science, Boston University


 

Grants

Major Grants:

  • National Endowment for the Humanities, for "The Nation That Works", 1996-1997.

  • National Endowment for the Arts/Expansion Arts Program, support for ongoing work 1988-1995.

  • Oregon Arts Commission, 1981, 1988.

  • California Arts Council, support for ongoing work, 1989-1995. 

  • Oregon Council for the Humanities, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993. 

University Grants:

  • University of Oregon Summer Faculty Research Awards 1978; 1983

  • Oregon Humanities Center Faculty Grant, 1991.

  • Oregon Humanities Center grants for individual projects, 1997, 2003. 

  • Development Grant, University of Oregon Office of International Affairs, 1995.

Other Grants:

  • The Flintridge Foundation, 1984-1985. 

  • Ralph Smith Foundation, 1985-1987. 

  • Ruth Mott Foundation, 1986-1987. 

  • Public Welfare Foundation, 1986-1989. 

  • Vanguard Foundation, 1987-1999. 

  • A Territorial Resource, 1987-1990.

  • The Funding Exchange, 1987-1990. 

  • The Millbank Fund, 1989-1990. 

  • Harburg Fund 1989-1990. 

  • The Eastman Fund, 1990-1991. 

  • Zellerbach Foundation, 1990-1991. 

  • The Funding Exchange, 1991-1992. 

  • McKenzie River Gathering Foundation, periodic grants from 1985-1990. 

  • Levinson Foundation, 1990-1992. 

  • James Irvine Foundation, 1990-1992. 


 

University Activities

  • I am a co-founder (1977) of the University’s Council on Minority Education, now the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs. I was on its governing board for its first four years.  

  • I am a co-founder of the University of Oregon Peace Studies Program (1987). I have been a co-chair of the program ever since. 

  • I was co-chair of President’s Committee on Rights of Gay and Lesbian Students (1990-1992), investigated the situation of gay and lesbian students on campus and formulated proposals to address their concerns. This led to the creation of the University’s Office on Gay and Lesbian Affairs. 

  • I co-chaired the President’s committee to create Center on Diversity and Community (CODAC). The Center was established in 2000 to help coordinate diversity efforts across the campus and sponsor research related to diversity.  

  • In 2005, I was responsible for soliciting a bequest from former University of Oregon professor Henry Alexander to develop work in peace and conflict resolution at both the University of Oregon and Portland State University. The initial gift was $300,000. It was given the Northwest Institute of Conflict Resolution to initiate several programs, which I help oversee. Our ultimate aim is to create a center on peace and conflict resolution that will serve the Northwest. 

  • I am a co-founder of the University of Oregon Humanities Center. I organized the Symposium on Critical Theory 1982-83, that led to the creation of the Center. 

  • With Robert Gould, I helped create the Portland State University Conflict Resolution Program, in Portland, with which I am still affiliated. 

  • I was faculty sponsor of the legislation creating the University’s current policies barring “fraternization” (sexual relations) between faculty and students. I worked with the Oregon State Legislature and Representative Cynthia Wooten to change state policies on this matter, specifically related to statute-of-limitations issues. 

  • I was the principal faculty member soliciting funds for and establishing the Carleton Savage Endowment in International Relations in Peace, providing ongoing support for peace-related scholarship and lectures (established 1988). I have chaired or co-chaired the Savage Endowment since its inception. In this capacity, I have supervised numerous year-long projects on such topics as South African liberation struggles; peace and conflict in post-Communist Eastern Europe; violence and the imagination; approaching peace through music; the legacy of the Vietnam War; Native American visions of peace; feminism and peace; Hiroshima and its legacy; etc. 

  • I was principal faculty organizer of international conference “Ethics After the Holocaust” (May 1996), that brought scholars and students together to discuss moral and political significance of the event. I was also principal faculty organizer of related conference on “Community: The Forgotten Tradition” the following year (1997), in conjunction with U of O Hillel. Both events led to the creation of the U of O Schnitzer Program on Judaic Studies, of which I am a co-founder. 



Other Positions

 
  • Former President, Vice President, and member of Executive Committee, Local 3209 American Federation of Teachers

  • Delegate, Lane County Labor Council

  • Board of Directors, Eugene Arts Foundation 

  • Board of Directors, Oregon Repertory Theater

  • Board of Directors, Oakwood School, Los Angeles, California

  • Board of Directors, Adelante Corporation

  • Board of Directors, McKenzie River Gathering Foundation

  • Community Board, Oregon Bach Festival. 

  • Board of Directors, Northwest Institute of Conflict Resolution 

  • Steering Committee, Northwest Peace Studies Consortium.