When students enrolled in the government department's American Congress System class this term, they didn't expect their professor to be teaching based on first-hand experience. Jeff Smith, a visiting government professor, ran for Dick Gephardt's open seat in Missouri's Third District this past summer and lost by a small margin in the primaries.
Seeking a more low-key lifestyle, Smith took a position at Dartmouth to get away from St. Louis politics.
"I just wanted to be anonymous for a while," Smith said. "I wanted to be in a place where people didn't know me"
Smith, who is only 30 years old, has not yet decided whether he wants to make his career in academics or politics.
"It's kind of one of the reasons I'm up here -- to figure that out," Smith said.
In the past, Smith has been identified as a liberal activist and made no secret of his staunchly Democratic views.
"If John Ashcroft is for it, I'm probably against it," Smith's campaign website proclaimed.
In the classroom, however, Smith said he does not want his views to interfere with his teaching.
"I know that there's an electronic record of my ideology; I don't lie," Smith said. "[But] I'm an equal opportunity offender in the classroom. I'd be equally as quick to disparage Democrats as Republicans."
Some students, however, found it odd that Smith did not mention his congressional run in class.
"It's quite strange. He hasn't really talked much about himself in any regard," Rahul Sangwan '07 said. Sangwan is Smith's student and a member of the College Republicans.
Other students disagree about the relevance of Smith's past. "He's not the central character in the class," Adam Shpeen '07 said, adding that "most teachers don't talk about their previous experiences anyway."
Smith said he did not discuss his run in class because he wanted to earn his credibility as an academic among his students.
"[I wanted to] let things emerge naturally," Smith said.
Government professor John Carey, Smith's former professor at Washington University in St. Louis, recommended him to teach in the College's government department.
"I thought of him immediately, though we had to wait because we didn't know whether he was going to be serving in Congress or not, " Carey said.
"He brings into the classroom experiences that frankly a lot of political science professors don't have," Carey added.
Sangwan said he appreciates Smith's realism compared to other government professors.
"He focuses on what really happens and not so much what should happen," Sagwan said.
Sangwan added that Smith's Democratic views are fully apparent, despite the impression that he gives a fair voice to conservative views.
Smith previously taught political science and public policy at Washington University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He also worked on several political campaigns, including Bill Bradley's presidential run.
Some have interpreted Smith's near victory as a sign of rebirth for St. Louis' civic life.
After his narrow defeat, St. Louis' Arch City Chronicle newspaper printed: "The meaning of Jeff Smith's near upset victory will be better understood in the future ... there is a growing group of voters ... currently perhaps more aligned by spirit than policy positions."
