This endowment and scholarship honors the memory of an outstanding philosopher and instructor of philosophy, Douglas Arner, as well as promote the concept of academic freedom. Each year the scholarship will be awarded to 
an academically qualified undergraduate philosophy major (hopefully majors in the future) in financial need. Juniors and seniors majoring in philosophy at Arizona State University, who have demonstrated academic prowess, an appreciation for the importance of academic freedom, and a passion for their major may apply. Currently, the endowment only provides a partial scholarship, but we hope to eventually raise enough money so that the endowment supports several students.
Douglas G. Arner was a deeply principled man whose values and ideals governed the actions he undertook and the direction of his life. Of these principles, the concept and importance of academic freedom figured prominently in his career.
He came to ASU in 1959 as an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Philosophy. Previously, he had taught at Princeton and the University of Michigan, where he earned his master's and doctorial degrees in philosophy. Dr. Arner, along with professors Vernon Dolphin, Donald Gieschen and Terry Votichenko, established the current Department of Philosophy. Dr. Arner was promoted to full professor in 1964 and served as the department chair from 1969-1972.
He guided the department through the difficult days of the Vietnam War, vigorously defending the rights of faculty and students to express their views while also striving to maintain the integrity of the education the department delivered. Barbara Colby, who served as a teaching assistant for Professor Arner in the 1970s remembers him as being "the personification of a scholar and a gentleman."
His dedication to the themes of justice and fairness expressed in his clear and eloquent phrases caught the attention of students at a time when students were more apt to be interested in campus life than in studying. Maybe the best example of his influence came at his funeral service where one of his former students who had taken one class from him some 40 years previous, commented, "he was the reason I joined the civil rights movement."