From the Chronicle of Higher Education:
The 2008 presidential election has broken so many political barriers that historians may overlook one unusual fact: When Barack Obama takes the oath of office next January alongside his running mate, Joe Biden, it will be the first time in history that the president, vice president, and both of their spouses have worked in higher education.Taken together, the Obamas and the Bidens have amassed decades of experience at colleges and universities. Mr. Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 until 2004, when he took office in the U.S. Senate. His wife, Michelle, has worked in the administration at the same university and is on leave from her job as vice president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals.
The Bidens also have spent considerable time in academe. For the past 17 years, Mr. Biden has taught as an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law. His wife, Jill, is an English instructor at Delaware Technical and Community College's Stanton-Wilmington campus.
Education & Careers
Politics
Comments
oh shit, I never thought of it that way. I work with professors (I am a professor) we are the most messed up group in the world. Ever attend a faculty meeting? we are screwed
Posted by: Randy | November 5, 2008 12:41 PM
Randy- I know what you mean.
Faculty are a collection of free agents drawn together over common concerns regarding on-campus parking.
Americans have recently been drawn together over common concerns regarding a monumentally expensive war and a dashed economy.
On the one hand, we are kinda screwed to start with, and an academic mindset isn't always the best for getting people to work together. On the other hand, we (as a nation) have some actual incentive to work together (unlike many of the faculty I know).
Posted by: Becca | November 5, 2008 8:12 PM
Both P and VP are lawyers. Again.
Of all the countries in the world, the USA has the highest number of lawyers per square centimetre...
Posted by: Lassi Hippeläinen | November 6, 2008 8:37 AM
Oh yeah, I'd much rather be governed by someone I'd want to have a beer with than one of those elitist professor types.
Posted by: Shaden Freud | November 8, 2008 10:20 PM