Philosophy: Hot Major at Two-Year College ; Passionate Professors in New Jersey Turn Its School's Philosophy Department into Success Story

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As summer slowly melts into fall, students here at Bergen Community College are registering for classes. School won't begin for another two weeks. But on the third floor of the serpentine structure that houses most of the college, George Cronk, head of Bergen's philosophy and religion department, is joined in his office by two colleagues.

This triumvirate - Professor Cronk, Michael Redmond, and Peter Dlugos - represents the past, present, and future of philosophy and religion at Bergen.

Theirs is an unusual program. It thrives at a two-year community college in an era when students are increasingly practical-minded and career-oriented, perhaps for good reason. …