Professor Whelan has been helping Lycoming College students gain entrance to law school for over 30 years. As the son of an attorney his interest in the law began young.

Whelan came to Lycoming in 1971 from the University of Texas where he received his Ph.D. He specializes in contemporary ethical and political philosophy and regularly teaches courses in those subjects as well as courses in Critical Thinking, Philosophical Issues in Criminal Justice, and two special topics courses: "Homicide" and "Lying and Law-breaking."

Currently, he's working on a paper that attempts to formulate and defend a new definition of legal insanity. Insider info: An avid golfer, John has won the City Senior Amateur Championship and the White Deer Golf Club Championship. In the summer of 2003, while playing in a golf tournament with his son in Austin, Texas, Whelan won a brand new Jaguar XJ 10 with a hole-in-one.