Former politicians are turning down lucrative job offers elsewhere to teach students who are interested in, but sometimes cynical about, the political process.
Not long after John F. Street had closed one chapter in a long career as a powerful force in Philadelphia politics, he embarked on another chapter. This time, Street was settling into unfamiliar terrain as a celebrity at one of Pennsylvania’s largest institutions of higher education.
When word started to spread across Temple University’s campus that Street had been hired to teach an urban politics and policy class this spring semester, hundreds of students tried, unsuccessfully, to enroll in his course. Within an hour, the two sections of the class — each with 30 students — were filled.
Nowadays, the former two-term mayor of Philadelphia is perhaps the most recognized face on Temple’s campus where he skillfully guides undergraduates each week through the decision-making process that mayors in urban cities have to employ every day.
“It’s gone a lot better than I thought it would,” says Street, who at 64, admits that he was unsure how his 19- and 20-year-old students would respond to him in the classroom. “My students are very attentive, and they have a real appreciation for the political process.”
While White politicians have long retreated to the academy in pursuit of highprofile jobs as professors and university presidents, the trend is relatively new for Black politicians like Street who come to the academic setting after having served long political stints as state legislators, mayors and congressional leaders.
