Tara Blaser

she/her/hers

Contact

Philosophy / English Instructor
Humanities
Phone: 217-234-5321
Email: tblaser@lakelandcollege.edu

Education Information

College/University

Graduate Certificate in Health Care Ethics , Saint Louis University
M.A.: English, Eastern Illinois University
B.S.: Philosophy and English, SUNY Oneonta

Professional Affiliations/Award

• Received Lake Land College's "ICCTA Full-Time Outstanding Faculty Member" award
• Received "Woman of Achievement" award. “This award, sponsored by the EIU Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, is presented annually to women who have made outstanding contributions to their communities and who serve as role models worthy of emulation.” Staff at H.O.P.E. of East Central Illinois made this nomination
• Received the “Exemplary Practice” award from the NCSD (National Council on Student Development) for the Lake Land College Mystery

About

Hobbies and Interest

• Collecting cat hair, but not on purpose (I just have cats and wear black)
• Imagining increasingly elaborate ways I could survive a zombie apocalypse with nothing but humor and snacks

Courses Taught

• World Religions
• Ethics
• Ethics of AI
• Health Care Ethics
• Logic
• Composition II

Faculty statement/Why do you like teaching at Lake Land College?

Because where else can I spend my days talking about the meaning of life, the morality of robots, and the occasional zombie hypothetical? Lake Land has that perfect mix of small-town heart and big-question curiosity. I love teaching here because the faculty are fabulous, and the students bring a mix of curiosity, resilience, and real-world grit. 

Research interests, Specializations, and Background

Research interests:

• Ethics in artificial intelligence (because someone needs to tell robots that stealing jobs is rude)
• Digital accessibility in education (designing with the belief that access is not an add-on, it is a starting point)
• Philosophical zombie apocalypse scenarios (purely academic... probably.)
• Intersection of technology, justice, and moral decision-making (basically, how to be the heroine/hero in your own story)

Specializations:

• Artificial intelligence and ethics (I have taken enough AI courses and webinars that I might be part-robot at this point)
• Applied ethics (making real-world dilemmas make sense)
• Logic and critical thinking (I live for fallacies!)
• Universal design (building courses that do not leave students behind)

Background:

• Graduate Certificate in Professional Ethics – Texas State University (basically a license to overthink in a morally responsible way)
• Digital Accessibility for Educators Certificate from ION (because no one should need a secret decoder ring to navigate learning)
• Completed multiple AI courses (Coursera, Union Seminary, ION, and more webinars than I can count)
• Philosophy and Humanities instructor, where I try to make “what does it mean to be human?” more fun than it sounds
• Love cats
• Firmly believe I could outsmart zombies, out-talk ChatGPT (debatable), and still return library books on time

Community Service

• Help others navigate ethical dilemmas, big and small, from medical consent forms to whether you should ghost your group project