Interview with Governor Jim Douglas ’72, Executive in Residence
As stated in a previous post, the College recently announced that Governor Douglas will serve as Executive in Residence this J-Term. I talked with the Governor over Skype earlier this week about both the upcoming Residency and his student years. Take a look at the excerpts below or download an mp3 of the whole interview (lightly edited to remove greetings and some of my “ums”).
MiddBlog: What is the Residency, and how did it come about?
Governor Douglas: [President Liebowitz] asked me. Upon learning of my decision to leave government he suggested that [my] experience and knowledge might be of value to the College, and I jumped at the opportunity. I decided to offer a Winter Term course on Vermont government and politics, since that’s what I’ve been doing all these years.
MB: The College’s press release and an article in the Addison County Independent both mentioned that you’ll also be advising students who are interested in politics. What does that mean? Do you know what it means yet?
JD: That’s a part of the relationship with the College that’s still evolving. [I]t’s been a half-century since a Middlebury alumnus served as governor [Robert Stafford]. [T]he President and others on campus believe that the 38 years I’ve spent since leaving Middlebury [College] have been full of exciting opportunities and experiences, and they want to [give me] a chance to share them. We’ll see what develops in terms of exactly what role I’ll play.
MB: You’ve done a lot of public speaking, but what particular challenges do you anticipate from teaching?
JD: It’ll certainly be a different kind of experience, although I’ve been involved in a lot of interactive settings before. I could spend far more than the hours allotted telling war stories from my political career, but … I always want to be sure that what I have to say is of interest and relevant to the audience, so I hope the students will participate actively. … If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll get some good ideas from the students about where the state should go from here.
MB: Middlebury has a liberal student body; do you expect to be challenged on some issues by your students? Are you looking forward to it?
JD: We’re a liberal state, let alone the campus, so I’ve always had to swim upstream in my political career. [Vermonters] often are prepared to support someone even if they don’t agree with him or her on everything, as long as someone is straightforward and sincere. I certainly welcome whatever discussions might ensue.
MB: I’ve read that you were active in the College Republicans. Beyond that, what was your life like at the College?
JD: I was heavily involved in WRMC. … Read more
