DALLAS _ Political science students at Texas State University have a new instructor to look forward to this spring: Beto O'Rourke.
Motivated by a desire to reach young adults, the former U.S. representative and presidential candidate will teach Texas politics at the San Marcos-based institution this spring, The University Star reported Thursday.
"He originally approached people in the administration ... and expressed an interest in teaching," political science department chair Ken Grasso told the publication. "I was thrilled. He's got a unique take on things with his experience as a congressman and as (a) senatorial candidate and even a presidential candidate. So we're very happy to have him."
Grasso said O'Rourke's arrival would no doubt raise the department's visibility.
"That's always a good thing," he said. "We tend sometimes to get lost in the shadow of other institutions."
Should the campus' COVID-19 environment prove favorable in the spring, he added, O'Rourke could potentially teach face-to-face. Class size will likely be limited to maximize O'Rourke's interactions with students.
O'Rourke's political experience should offer students unique and valuable insights, Grasso said, that will complement the department's academic expertise.
"He's an actual practitioner out there," Grasso said. "You don't know a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins, and none of us have walked in his moccasins."
While O'Rourke's plans are only to teach in Spring 2021, Grasso hopes the experience will mark "the beginning of a long-term relationship."
