February 27, 2004

Southern Cal Seeks Philosophers; Historian of Mormonism Calls U. of Utah's Overture a 'Fraud'; Robert Bork to Join U. of Richmond's Law School

By PIPER FOGG, BURTON BOLLAG, and KATHERIEN S. MANGAN

RISING IN THE WEST: The University of Southern California's philosophy department is trying to lure several prominent professors from around the country in an attempt to elevate its national reputation. "We want to be a major graduate program in certain specialties," says James Higginbotham, chairman of the department.

Scott Soames, 58, a leading figure in the philosophy of language, who has been at Princeton University for more than two decades, is weighing an offer from Southern