U.S. Professors Separate Personal Affairs from Business in Politics

While lecturing in class, professor of Harvard’s Graduate School of Public Administration (Kennedy School) Joseph Nye often mentions the name of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, saying things like, “I was at a meeting and then President Clinton called me and….” This is because he served as the assistant secretary of defense in the Clinton administration. It is commonly accepted in the U.S. that a scholar such as Nye takes up such posts in administrations and reflect his or her expertise in the nation’s policy.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) said in its declaration regarding professors and their political activities, which was adopted in 1969, “Professors as citizens of the U.S., have the freedom to participate in politics so long as they are able to consistently fulfill their obligations as teachers and scholars.”

However, in the U.S. professor community, it is hard to find an example where professors have personal relationships with a certain candidate’s camp prior to elections. Rather, more often than not, scholars’ expertise, which they have steadily accumulated in an ideological spectrum divided by the Democratic and Republican parties, and their participation in projects often results in professors participating in political activities.

In addition, it is rare for a professor, who has no experience of having successfully led a big organization, to be appointed as a minister or as a general manager of a huge institution. In most cases, these scholars conduct political activities as working executive members under the assistant secretary level in the department where their expertise is needed.

Under the Clinton administration, Nye and Harold Koh at Yale University worked as assistant secretaries in the Defense and Justice departments. Even professors in their 50s, who are regarded as the top experts in their fields, do not usually work as ministers or vice ministers.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who began her political career as national security advisor, was regarded as an expert on Russia at Stanford University and had an outstanding ability to manage the organization as dean.

Many former and current officials of the George W. Bush administration who shaped America’s current policy for the Korean peninsula also came from the academic circle. State Department advisor Philip Zelikow, under secretary for arms control Robert Joseph, and Victor Cha, advisor for East Asia security affairs are all former professors. And yet, these are exceptional cases and most professors don’t have much interest in politics. This is because just being professors requires much effort, making it hard for them to find other interests.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., it is common for professors to be temporarily suspended from their teaching posts when they serve an administration. For example, Harvard University allows a professor with a permanent appointment to take a break from office for up to two years while he or she works in an administration. These professors can return to their former positions as long as they come back to the university within two years.

kong@donga.com srkim@donga.com