St Louis Post Dispatch: Pols-turned-professors? New law gets 3rd degree
What does it take to become a college professor? In Missouri, a bachelor’s degree and eight years in the state Legislature might do it.
A bill recently signed into law by Gov. Matt Blunt does not guarantee that former legislators will be hired as professors, but it bars public universities from rejecting them for faculty positions just because they lack a graduate degree.
Some politicians and faculty members don’t like the idea of special treatment for politicians.
“We all pay a lot of dues to get where we are, and the dues are graduate school,” said Lana Stein, chairwoman of the political science department at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Said Sen. Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis, an adjunct professor with a doctorate degree: “It doesn’t look good when legislators with term limits open up job opportunities for ourselves after retirement.”
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