Thomas Phelan joined the St. Nobert philosophy faculty in 1950. He received his bachelor’s degree from Regis College and an M.A. degree from St. Louis University. Besides serving on numerous faculty committees, other positions held at St. Norbert include chairman of the philosophy department, director of the honors program in the 1960s, the Writers Workshop in the 1970s, and the Freshman Seminar in the 1980s. He was cited for distinguishing himself “not only as a teacher of philosophy, but also a teacher of a variety of other courses.” In 1987, Phelan received the Leonard Ledvina Outstanding Teacher Award for excellence in teaching, and was awarded Professor Emeritus in 1990.