Political science alums agree on value of UW-Madison education

With a hotly contested election just days away, some leading politicians from both ends of the political spectrum have come together on at least one issue: A University of Wisconsin–Madison political science degree is instrumental in their lives and public service careers.

Several well-known political science graduates, including Vice President Dick Cheney, a Republican, and Democratic U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, contributed brief essays for the department’s alumni newsletter focusing on what their UW–Madison education means to them.

“I can draw a straight line from my decision to study at the University of Wisconsin to the career in public service that I’ve found so deeply rewarding,” wrote Cheney, who completed all but a dissertation while studying for his doctorate at UW–Madison in the 1960s.

Cheney went on to serve as a congressman from Wyoming from 1978-89 and as secretary of defense from 1989-93.

“To look back on those years in Wisconsin is to draw upon many fine memories — the great intellectual challenges, the warm friendships and even the birth of my first child,” the vice president added. “I never did finish that Ph.D., but I’ll always count my arrival in Madison as one of life’s happiest turning points.”

Feingold, who has served Wisconsin in the Senate since 1993 and who has been mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential hopeful in 2008, wrote that excellent faculty — such as the late Leon Epstein — have given the department its strong reputation.

“The UW political science department has had a profound impact on my life in public service,” Feingold wrote. “The debates and conversations I had in class more than 30 years ago still come back to me, and they still help guide my decisions as the Senate deliberates both domestic issues and foreign policy.”

Similar perspectives were offered by Roberta Draper, producer of congressional news at NBC. Draper recalled how, as a Washington Star reporter, she relied on what she learned from David Fellman’s Constitutional Law course to help her write a deadline story about the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Miranda decision.

Ron Bonjean, press secretary to U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, said, “Little did I know how much Madison life had prepared me for the political world when Republicans took over Congress in 1994.”

Madison attorney Mike Wittenwyler, the lead attorney in Godfrey and Kahn’s political law group, noted how his classroom and volunteer experiences on various campaigns — including Feingold’s first run for Senate — helped shape his career.

Also weighing in was political science grad Joe Panos, the offensive lineman on Wisconsin’s 1994 Rose Bowl team who went on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills.

“I really enjoyed my time as a student,” Panos recalled. “I am more conservative than the vast majority of people at the UW, but I liked hearing everyone’s point of view. I hate it when people only know their own and don’t have a wider perspective. What I learned at the UW was to prepare. In the NFL when I went on the field I continued to do what I did for classes: prepare!”

Graham Wilson, professor of political science and department chair, says the essays point to how classroom experiences can translate to the world of public policy and life in general.

“The education we offer is valued by both liberals and conservatives, both Republicans and Democrats,” Wilson says. “These essays demonstrate how students over the years have used their political science educations as a springboard to public service, and how their knowledge has transformed public policy and public dialogue in very meaningful ways.”