A bridge-building civic leader, innovative experience designer, and award-winning teacher, Dr. Sarah Pessin is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Denver where she researches and teaches topics in coexistence, meaning-making, pluralism, interfaith civics, democracy, and ethics. Currently on Sabbatical, she is the recipient of a Fulbright Award (2026), an ACE Fellowship (2023), and has served in two Program Director roles over the past 15 years, one leading a campus intercultural center and one supporting student wellness.

Featured by the Association of American Colleges & Universities for her intercultural work, Sarah has served as Creative Director for a public memorial and has won grants for her successful civic experience designs from such orgs as Interfaith America, the Mellon Foundation, and the Council of Independent Colleges. She is the recipient of a cooperative leadership award (2022) for her work as Faculty Senate President during the especially challenging early months of COVID.

Currently engaged in intergenerational civic projects and research on hope and forgiveness, Sarah is author of 100+ research essays, 250+ presentations, and a book on the philosophical ethics of philosopher and poet Solomon Ibn Gabirol (Cambridge University Press). She is also a co-editor for a multicultural reader and has published in key academic resources, including the Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy, Oxford Philosophical Concepts, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a Routledge Handbook, a Routledge Companion, and an Oxford Handbook.

She has also published op-eds with the Denver Post and Inside Higher Ed, writes popular essays about politics and hope on medium.com, and her recent work on hope was featured by Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.

Holding a PhD in Philosophy from The Ohio State University and an MA in Philosophy from Columbia University, Sarah is also a collage artist and poet who enjoys playing with goats, doing occasional stand-up comedy, and getting in a good afternoon of gardening.