Acorn

Political science is a field that attracts opinionated people, and Professor Bill Messmer is no exception.

?I?m a liberal Democrat, and I never try to hide that,? Messmer said. ?It?s easier to get it up on the table.? However, he never wants to force his opinions on his students. ?I want to give students the opportunity to discover what they think,? he said.

According to students, Messmer?s method works.

?Since [Messmer] doesn?t hide his political views, people feel comfortable about expressing theirs,? senior Deirdre Leahy said. ?He participates in the same way as the students do.?

Messmer?s unique approach will cause many to miss him when he retires at the end of this semester after 27 years at Drew University.

Messmer is very involved in his students? lives, Leahy said. Messmer is Leahy?s political science advisor. ?He takes it really seriously,? she said. ?He?s kind of like a parent. He?ll say ?get your act together, stop wasting your time and money.??

Messmer so enjoys teaching and interacting with students that he finds it difficult to name his favorite class to teach. His three favorite on-campus courses are Europe in World Affairs, Latin-American Politics and Revolutions.

Messmer likes teaching about Europe because ?I like the experiment with the European Union,? he said. ?It?s a place to study political change, political parties and international relations, all things that affect the United States.?

Messmer has also long been fascinated by Latin America. ?I see it as a place that works on issues of development, more so than European countries,? he said.

Finally, Messmer enjoys teaching his seminar on revolutions because ?Revolution is in your face,? he said. ?It?s about change. It?s unpredictable. It?s breathtaking.?

During his time at Drew, Messmer has taught or directed the United Nations, London and Brussels semesters, and has also taken students abroad on Drew International Seminars. ?Going off campus is always terrific fun,? Messmer said. ?You get to do more ? be part of students experiencing the world. It?s rewarding to be part of that interaction.?

Political science major senior Kristin Rogers has experienced that fun firsthand. ?[Messmer] really stresses bringing outside experiences into the classroom, through internships and study abroad.? Due to Messmer?s encouragement, Rogers spent last semester in Brussels, and has completed the United Nations semester and two internships while at Drew.

?You start to realize what you?ve learned when you get to go out and apply it in a real setting,? Rogers said. ?He?s into making the most of the experience. He wants us to have a good time, to enjoy learning,? he added.

Messmer grew up in Ohio and attended Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio.

After graduating in 1963 with a degree in poltical science, Messmer spent several months traveling Europe. ?I always wanted to see a little bit of the world,? he said.

Once he returned to the United States, though, reality set in. ?Everyone had to contend with the draft,? Messmer said. ?I joined the army in 1964 just to get it over with. I had no idea where Vietnam was.? Messmer stayed in the U.S. until his release in 1967.

Messmer received his master?s degree in 1969 from Ohio University and, after several years of teaching, returned to school to get his doctorate at Ohio State University.

Messmer?s first teaching job was in Germany, as an adjunct for a Boston University graduate program. He and his wife, Cathy, spent a year abroad.

?It was a terrific year,? Messmer said. ?We both decided that even if I never got another job based on my Ph.D., that one year made it all worthwhile.?

In 1979, Messmer came to work at Drew. ?Drew was asking for a very unusual person,? he said. ?They wanted someone to teach developing areas courses and be director of the London Semester.?

In his nearly 30 years at Drew, Messmer has noticed many changes.

?When I first came here, students were better off,? he said. ?They drove better cars than I did. Today, there are more students who don?t reflect family wealth and, as a result, they often take their education a little more seriously.?

The field of political science has also changed. ?Political sciene has broadened its focus from the Western world to developing arts of the world,? Messmer said.

Messmer wants to set the record straight on his decision to retire. ?I?m not retiring because I sense that I?m not doing a good job,? he said. ?I can afford to now. It?s time to see if thre?s something else out there.? Messmer looks forward to spending time at his house in Maine, and ?doing more exploring, maybe seeing new parts of the globe.?

Messmer?s colleagues in the political science department will miss him, Professor of political science Phil Mundo said.

?He?s very engaged with students,? Mundo said. ?He genuinely cares about them ? He?s always coming up with new things to teach.?

Messmer, in turn, appreciates his colleagues. The hardest part about retiring will be leaving that community behind, he said. ?Being at Drew is a little bit like being a member of a family,? Messmer said. ?You give and you get. And if you give extra, you get extra.?

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