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Faculty member receives 'best adviser' award from political science honor society

By David Gonnerman '90
September 19, 2003

Umbanhowar
Umbanhowar
St. Olaf Associate Professor of Political Science Charles Umbanhowar, Sr., has been named a "Best Chapter Adviser of 2003" by the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society. A faculty member since 1978, he was given the award for his "extraordinary dedication, commitment and leadership" while advising St. Olaf's Pi Sigma Alpha chapter for political science students.

The award is one of three given annually by the society. It carries a cash prize of $1,000.

The St. Olaf Pi Sigma Alpha chapter has been named the society's "Best Chapter" (among liberal arts colleges with fewer than 6,000 students) three years in a row -- all under Umbanhowar's leadership.

The chapter's purpose is to promote the study of politics. Its work is most visible in public lecture events organized each year. Last year, St. Olaf graduated 50 political science majors, making it the school's sixth most popular major.

Umbanhowar, who has taught courses ranging from "Politics and Nature" to "Constitutional Law," is modest about his award. "This came about through good leadership by students," he explains. "The key is that we've been aggressive in choosing leaders.

"They've made my job a joy and were wonderful to work with," Umbanhowar adds as he pages through a notebook listing 19 years of the chapter's student officers. Umbanhowar, 63, will retire this December.

Poltical science department chair Dan Hofrenning, who nominated Umbanhowar for the award, praises his colleague's ability to relate to students while still being a demanding teacher. He calls Umbanhowar a person of great intellectual and personal character who has never shied from the department's more public work.

"Charles has displayed a knack for identifying key leaders who could develop a strong program," Hofrenning says. "He always seemed to know precisely when to encourage our students and when to leave them alone."

The chapter began organizing public lectures after receiving its first grant in 1999. That same year the group's lecture "Vietnam 25 Years After the Fall of Saigon" brought together a political scientist from St. Louis University and an Associated Press reporter who had covered Vietnam in the field. The next year, "Immigration Policy" assembled government officials and advocacy groups, as well as Dual Ruei, a local high school student and recent immigrant from Sudan.

The third lecture focused on America's post-Cold War foreign policy and included Northfield resident and former ambassador to Rwanda Robert Flaten '56, U.S. Department of State official John Trowbridge (father of St. Olaf student Amy Trowbridge '05) and a former student of Umbanhowar's who is a professor at Indiana State University.

The lectures have all been organized and moderated by students.

"This is political science at its best," Hofrenning says. "Each of these events focused on a controversial current issue in a way that provided a broader political framework but did not ignore the pressing nature of the issues."

Umbanhowar's role as adviser sometimes calls for proactive assistance. Last year the chapter wanted to host a lecture titled "Civil Liberties in a Time of War." The group was hoping to bring together two men from opposite ends of the political spectrum: former U.S. Attorney David Lillehauge, a Democrat, and his replacement, Republican Tom Hefflefinger.

"The two chapter officers organizing the event were unable to get through to Heffelfinger's office so they asked me to help. But I couldn't get through, either!" Umbanhowar recalls with a laugh. At the last minute, everything came together and the event was a success.

"I was very pleased with the way both men conducted themselves," Umbanhowar says of the two attorneys. "They disagreed but continued to respect each other."

He is concerned by the "attack-dog" politics that he believes are destroying civil society. "It turns people off and arouses passions that lead to civil war. We need to cooperate and compromise," he says.

Asked what advice he might want to instill in his final classes, Umbanhowar says he'll pay special attention to civility and clear thinking.

In the 1980s, Umbanhowar collaborated with Carleton College faculty members Michael Zuckert and Ruth Weiner to write and produce nine half-hour radio dramas based on the correspondence between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, a specialty of Umbanhowar's. Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, these shows were distributed to public radio stations across the country.

Umbanhowar, who lives in Dennison, Minn., with his wife, Hendrika, picked a December retirement date because he wants to finish at the end of the calendar year. His immediate post-retirement plans include St. Olaf, as he will accompany a new international studies program to Tumaini, Tanzania, in January.

Umbanhowar's son, Charles, Jr., has been teaching biology at St. Olaf since 1991.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-646-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.