In the world of education, many teachers agree there is no tool more valuable to possess than personal experience in their field. This experience gives the students a better grasp of the realities of the jobs they will one day hold.
This school year, students studying political science and architecture will get a rare chance to listen to an instructor with experience that is hard to match.
Recently, Ball State University announced the hiring of Bart Peterson, former mayor of Indianapolis.
Peterson will begin his Ball State teaching career Fall Semester with a political science course discussing problems facing metropolitan areas. He will teach the course at the university's Indianapolis Center, with the course then broadcast to a classroom on campus.
Joseph Losco, the political science department chairman, said the students taking the courses taught by Peterson will benefit greatly from his experience as the two-term mayor of the nation's 13th-largest city.
"This is a valuable opportunity for students to learn about urban politics first-hand from someone who was involved-áin many innovations, including the improvement of-áthe quality of urban life and the creation of green cities," Losco said.
Losco added that faculty on campus, not only in the two departments Peterson is joining, will benefit from being able to collaborate and consult with the former mayor.
In the Spring Semester, Peterson will lead a course in the architecture department that will focus on the challenges and opportunities cities deal with regarding the existing city designs.
Peterson said he is very excited for the opportunity and anxious to finally get started.
"For a long time I believed I would enjoy teaching," Peterson said. "It will be a great opportunity for me and also for the students."
James Raymond, a political science major at Ball State, said Peterson's experience will give students real-world knowledge about politics and metropolitan management.
"In my college career, I've found that many instructors who have spent years in the field they teach are much more able to give the proverbial 'inside scoop' as to what actually happens, rather than simply promoting theories," he said.
Raymond said he was interested in whether Peterson's political affiliation will affect his teaching methods.
This is not Peterson's first college-level teaching experience. In January he taught a course at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University.
"It was my first experience with leading a class," Peterson said. "I wanted to see how it would feel to be in front of and lead a class."
Peterson said he was sold on the idea of working for the university because of the great reputation surrounding the political science department.
He added that he is excited to continue building relationships with students and instructors in political science and architecture.
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