The Rocky Mountain Collegian

A new political science faculty member will soon be chosen, and students played a unique role in the selection process.

The process of selecting a new additional faculty member began last fall, said Steven Puro, Ph.D. Potential candidates for the position were interviewed at the National Political Science convention last spring.

"We now have it down to three, from more than 125 applications," Puro said.

The three remaining candidates, both male and female, have visited SLU in the past three weeks to meet with existing faculty, present research, and to connect with students.

Each candidate lectured to a class, and afterwards, six political science students met with the each candidate individually. "An important part of the selection process is how well the candidates interact with students," said Puro.

The students, selected by professors for this opportunity, shared their views of the department, the University and the city of St. Louis and asked questions of the candidates. In turn, the candidates shared their academic interests with the students and got a feel of what SLU students were like in the process.

"It was refreshing to have the candidates talk to us as colleagues," said Joel Samuels, one of the students involved.

"Meeting with the candidates was very important because, sometimes, we know what we want in a professor better than what the professors think we want," said Aisha Sabar, another student involved.

"Any faculty member affects what we learn and how we learn it," Samuels said. "They influence what a student will do for the rest of his or her life."

The candidates have a variety of interests in political theory from ancient to modern. All either have a Ph.D., or are in the final stages of receiving one.

The students' suggestions are factored into the final decision, but ultimately, it is the department faculty members who make a recommendation to the dean, and the dean proceeds to give the official offer to the chosen candidate. A final decision has yet to be announced, but the new faculty member will begin teaching in fall of 2005.

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