Joe Crowley to teach Western Traditions

Former president Joe Crowley will return to the University of Nevada, Reno in the fall as a student to prepare himself to teach in the spring.

"I promised myself when I became president 24 years ago that, before I hung it up, I would go back to do some teaching," he said. "I am keeping a promise to myself."

Crowley, 68, plans to take a course in teaching offered at the university to sharpen his skills before stepping back into the classroom.

"I'm excited about it," he said. He taught political science full-time from 1966 to 1978 before taking over as president.

After becoming president, he continued to teach for a few years but gave it up when his schedule became too demanding.

He will return to the classroom to teach Western Traditions -- a subject he fought to make a graduation requirement.

"I was a strong proponent of developing a new core curriculum and Western Traditions is the core of the core, if you will," he said. "I've chosen to teach in that area. I wanted to teach that."

He will teach the third sequence of the class which covers American history beginning with the Revolutionary War.

"I've long taught American politics and Constitutional history," he said. "It's a natural place for me to hang it up for a while."

His plan is to teach for about three years but it is not yet definite.

"I'm going to take it a year at a time," he said. "Just like I did as president, only then I took it a day at a time, sometimes even an hour at a time."

Crowley will also spend his free time this fall to work on the second volume of his 1994 book, "No Equal in the World: An Interpretation of the Academic Presidency."

John Lilley, former provost and chief executive officer of Pennsylvania State University, Erie will take Crowley's place this year as president of the University of Nevada, Reno.