After stepping back from a 40-year political career in Oregon politics, former Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski decided to continue working in the field, but with a change of scene: from the governor’s office to the classroom. Starting fall term 2012, Kulongoski will be teaching political science in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State.
After stepping back from a 40-year political career in Oregon politics, former Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski decided to continue working in the field, but with a change of scene: from the governor’s office to the classroom. Starting fall term 2012, Kulongoski will be teaching political science in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State.
Kulongoski praised PSU for its diversity, naming it his institution of choice for teaching. Outlining his vision for the classroom, Kulongoski told the Vanguard, “There’s something very unique about urban campuses because of the student body it attracts. I think this is a very good mix for something that I wanted to do, which is to be able to see if I could add something to the education of the students at PSU and at the same time have them develop an understanding of politics and government and at the same time know a little bit about Oregon and what a great place it is,” Kulongoski said.
This continues a long tradition of state leaders teaching at the Hatfield school, including former governor Barbara Roberts, various state and U.S. senators, representatives and city commissioners. “It’s not unusual for us to attract and make use of a public figure like Governor Kulongoski,” said Ronald Tammen, professor of political science and director of the Hatfield school.
Currently, Kulongoski guest lectures for Political Science 102: U.S. Politics, in collaboration with professor Christopher Shortell, who described the collaboration as “an opportunity for Governor Kulongoski to get his feet wet with teaching before taking on his own course in the fall.”
Kulongoski urged students to become involved in their democracy beyond just voting, and to become educated about the current political environment: “My argument would be to young people, is it’s more than just voting, it’s getting involved. You will better understand it if you get involved,” he said. “Voting is an attribute of American democracy, but if that’s all it is, we are giving to elected officials much more power than they should have or we would want them to have.”
The former governor pointed out that politics are not perfect, and his long career has taught him to see the political system as a reflection of human nature: always imbued with good intent and often success, while susceptible to corruption and distrust. He argued that a better understanding is the best first step towards real resolutions in politics and that, in teaching, he hopes to help students understand politics as a human institution of which everyone takes part, shaped by participation.
In gauging young people’s current regard for politics, Kulongoski said: “I do think young people are more interested in what government does and why it does it. Whether that relates to them getting involved in politics or not I don’t know. But I do know that they realize that people are making decisions for their lives and they want to know why they’re being made,” he said. “I think that’s a good thing, because government should be questioned of what it does on whether in fact it’s a short term solution or a long thoughtful solution that looks long term that points this country, this state, this community in the right direction.”
Kulongoski’s early political career includes terms in the Oregon House of Representatives, the Oregon State Senate, and four years as Oregon’s insurance commissioner under then-Governor Neil Goldschmidt. Kulongoski then served a term as attorney general before being elected to the Oregon Supreme Court, where he served one term before launching a successful campaign for the office of governor. He served as governor from 2003 to 2011, and was succeeded by current-Governor Kitzhaber.
“He is unusual in that he has experience in all three branches of government and tremendous insight into how policy is crafted in Oregon,” Shortell said. “These experiences will enrich his classes and provide valuable practical connections to the empirical and theoretical studies of political scientists. He is well positioned to demonstrate to students why their political engagement matters and what they can do to be more active citizens.”
Kulongoski, who received his undergraduate degree in political science and a law degree from the University of Missouri, attends Shortell’s class regularly and will lecture four times throughout the term. In the fall he will man the helm of Introduction to State and Local Politics as his first time teaching his own course—and probably more to come. “I expect to see him teaching here for many years,” Tammen said.
