D.C.-area professors impart experience in political arena

Every profession has its stereotype, and the one that plagues academia
is of a somewhat unkempt brainiac locked away in the ivory tower,
lacking any practical knowledge of the real world. But D.C.-area
schools can boast a number of instructors who have experience in
politics or government agencies and are happy to impart what they’ve
learned to their students.

Edward Berkowitz was a young
historian — just 30 — when he took a break from his position at the
University of Massachusetts-Boston to join President Jimmy Carter’s
Commission for a National Agenda for the Eighties. His stint there
remains a notable part of his long career, and captures the attention
of his students 30 years later. “The kids at George Washington, where I
work now, are particularly interested in people with Washington
experience,” he said.

{mosads}Wallace Thies, a professor of
politics at the Catholic University of America, spent only one year
with the State Department. But those 12 months in 1979 and 1980 —
during which the Iran hostage crisis occurred and the Soviet Union
invaded Afghanistan — left an indelible mark on his teaching.

“It
did influence me. Not only in being able to see policies being made
from the inside, it also made me aware of what it’s like to work for
the government, which I try to convey to my students,” he said.

Berkowitz’s
work under Carter was also short-lived: “When I got back to my terrible
job that I had at the time at UMass-Boston, people said, ‘Oh, were you
away?’ ” he said.

And it may not have been overly glamorous —
White House staffers under President Carter weren’t afforded the same
status as were those who worked in other administrations, he said — but
it had its perks. He saw his $15,000 professor’s salary double. And
then there were the word processors. “They were just amazing to me,” he
said, marveling at the technology that allowed him to correct mistakes
as he typed.

But besides the money and the technology, Berkowitz
got a taste of what it is like to be among the Washington power
brokers. “All of a sudden I was organizing these different hearings and
meetings,” he said. “I got a call once from Caspar Weinberger who had
been the secretary of [Health, Education and Welfare]. He just wanted
to know what was going on,” Berkowitz said. “That was all very
exciting.”

Thies was struck by the fast pace of government work.
“Life in the State Department was essentially a series of deadlines,”
he said. “This is something I stress” in the classroom, he said.

But
despite the relative frenzy of government work, Thies said it wasn’t
“radically different” from academia. “The greatest difference to me is
that in the government, I had a boss that I answered to,” he said. “In
academia, I don’t really have a boss.”

Berkowitz found the
change of pace invigorating. Of the oft-lamented pressure for academics
to churn out scholarly papers and books, Berkowitz said, “This ‘publish
or perish’ thing, if it exists at all, it’s very slow-paced. Whereas in
the government, what I was doing is almost like a journalist.”

{mosads}If
these quick brushes with government work left strong impressions on
Thies and Berkowitz, Ray Batvinis brings the formation of a long career
with the FBI into the classroom with him. Batvinis, who was 56 when he
earned his Ph.D. in history, started taking night classes at Catholic
University while a special agent with the bureau. These days, he enjoys
merging his two careers when instructing students at The Institute of
World Politics and Mercyhurst College. “I’m about long-term principles
and themes,” he said, “and how counterintelligence officers and
intelligence officers should learn from history.” Batvinis is scheduled
to teach a class at George Washington this fall.

While students
appreciate chances to learn from those with firsthand experience of
government agencies, the professors say they find their time in the
classroom rewarding as well. Thies said those pursing advanced degrees
are particularly receptive students.

Batvinis enjoys that at the
age of 63, he is “giving back to the next generation” through his
teaching. But his work is not all about enjoyment. “It’s the next
generation that’s going to have to protect us from our enemies and our
adversaries,” he said.