DePauw Stories

DePauw University has appointed new directors of the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics and the Eugene S. Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media, the result of two nationwide searches.

Jeffrey Dunn, associate professor of philosophy at DePauw, was named the Phyllis W. Nicholas director of Prindle. JP Olsen, former director of original programming at HBO, takes over at the Pulliam center.

Dunn received his doctorate from the University of Massachusetts in 2010 and has taught at DePauw since then. He is chair of the Philosophy Department, a post he also held 2019-20.

He has been secretary-treasurer of the eastern division of the American Philosophical Association since 2017. At DePauw, Dunn has been a judge for Prindle’s High School Ethics Bowl and a counselor at Express C.A.M.P., a summer day camp run by Prindle. He initiated Prindle’s Philosophy for Children program when he offered a winter-term class on the topic in 2017 and, two years later, partnered with Prindle to invite a leading scholar to campus to discuss the topic.

“I was thrilled when Jeff emerged through our national search, as I have been impressed with his work at DePauw, where he is known for his inspiring courses, his scholarship and his strong administrative work,” said Dave Berque, vice president for academic affairs. “Jeff will bring these skills and his deep knowledge of DePauw to this new role and I am confident his leadership will further strengthen the Prindle Institute.”

Olsen has spent his entire career in the media, most recently at HBO. From July 2015 until February 2021, he oversaw editorial content for VICE programming, including a news magazine, documentaries, and a daily news program. On his watch, VICE programming won 23 news and documentary Emmys, seven Peabodys, multiple Murrow and Overseas Press Club awards, and citations from GLAAD and the National Association of Black Journalists. After VICE’s cancellation, he went on to study under filmmaker and fine artist Sir Isaac Julien at the IJ Lab at the University of California Santa Cruz.

He previously was a producer and writer for “Retro Report,” a documentary series for The New York Times’s website, and a researcher, producer, co-producer, writer and director for various PBS programming.

Olsen was filmmaker-in-residence for the narrative and documentary film seminar hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University and the New York Arts Program and has been a guest lecturer on documentary filmmaking at a number of universities.

Olsen, who holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, starts July 25.

“JP Olsen is going to make an ideal director for the Pulliam Center,” Berque said. “His deep industry knowledge, prior experiences working with DePauw students through the New York Arts Program and commitment to collaborating with faculty and staff perfectly position JP to build on the center’s successes as DePauw embarks on our strategic plan.”