Sept. 15, 2009 issue
When I came for my job interview here in 2002, I flew in from St. Louis
from another interview. I went to dinner with faculty, including Karen
Lindenberg whose position was open. At dinner, I ordered pasta. She ordered
the same.
She said, "You ordered my favorite food." I thought that was a good sign.
On the way back to the airport, I was offered the job. I came to EMU
as an assistant professor of political science.
My favorite class to teach is Organizational Theory. Students think it's
a hard class. I try to make it fun. I do a lot of case
studies. I challenge them to use their own theories. In
one case study, I divide students into four groups and each group has
to create a car. Everyone has his or her materials and starts working.
I come in and create a disturbance. After five minutes, I tell the group
leaders they are sick and have to take time off. The group now has to
restructure and find a new leader. They come up with a car that functions.
Then, we sit down and analyze which theories they exercised during the
game.
I've been the director of American Humanics the last four or five years.
The reason they hired me was because they wanted someone
to create a nonprofit initiative. I worked with Chris Foreman
in putting together a nonprofit minor. With Chris, we created
a whole curriculum for a nonprofit minor. Every 11th job in Michigan is
nonprofit. It's the fastest-growing job market in the U.S. economy. To
run a nonprofit, you must love the cause. Students then learn that running
a nonprofit is just like running a business. There are
differences, but the management practice is still the same. You learn
how to hire and fire people; how to produce something. It's not just something
that happens out of the goodness of your heart.
I served as interim department head of political science for two years.
It was a huge challenge. You are interim, which means there
is a perception that you don't have as much power. Second,
I was a junior faculty member and had just become an associate
professor. It took a lot of effort to establish myself
as the department head, not just someone who keeps the
seat warm. I felt that I grew up in that position. I learned many things.
At the same time, I'm pretty happy with what I did. I brought in a lot
of money.
What I like about this place is that I have so many roles. In each of
my roles, I can learn something I can use in classroom.
My lab is the university. It's much easier to connect to
the classroom what I do each day.
I feel I have a very good relationship with my colleagues. We support
each other. — Contributed by Ron Podell
