In Western Civilizations one does not usually learn through Star Wars analogies, but one does not come across a professor like René Paddags often either. Having only been at Ashland two years, he has already tapped into the minds of young men through the force.

He hails from an unpronounceable town in Germany, and came to North Dakota through an international student exchange program, knows seven languages, and attained a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Maryland.

Commenting on his decision to study here, he said “Many professors moved to America after World War II…and I was advised to go here.”

As for why he studied political science, he said, “There was no specific field I loved…law, international and German politics, history…this allowed me to explore the many facets of political science.”

It has been a strange journey for Paddags since he arrived in America. However he found peace in North Dakota, where he was randomly placed for college.

“I enjoyed being isolated.” He was not talking about living in Siberia, but rather living far away from the complications of the modern world. He got to see the “traditional” America, where community strength and civic obligations were part of everyday life.

He was able to revive that nostalgia in Ashland a few years later. Around the time he completed his graduate studies, a position opened up at Ashland University for a political science teacher with a background in international relations; thus, Paddags is here and enjoying the history and political science departments.

“For me, it would be very difficult to find a better place.” he said.

He is a tenure-track professor and seems truly excited to work with the students here.

“You never expect that a student will share the same passion that I have, but this is great to help students on the way to think for themselves, to be readers on a whole new level. I’m hoping to be the teacher that I had or wanted to have,” he said.

Teaching suits him well because it allows him to engage and excite students about a subject he loves.

His teaching style also makes being a student of his very straightforward. In his western civilizations class for example, he introduces a mixture of ancient philosophical readings and textual information.

He is an interesting teacher because he formulates his class taking student opinion into account. He has already made adjustments from last year and is open to discussion about how to make his class better for all students.

His most distinguishing feature is his ability to modernize the information that students learn. He does that primarily through analogizing pop culture.

One of Paddag’s strongest attributes is his ability to show students that history applies to everyday life. He also wants to show that “there is more to pop culture” than we are already assuming.

His department door has also been of interest lately, boasting the Articles of Confederation, a picture of the painting “Scholars at a Lecture at Oxford” and a quote about mischief. These are all daily reminders to himself about the principles he wishes to carry through the classroom.

The Articles of Confederation are posted to show a reminder of how government fails. The picture by William Hogarth is a reminder of how he should not be in a lecture. In the picture, all of the students are sleeping or not paying attention. It motivates him to keep the class motivated.

Lastly, the quote is a warning to keep the consequences in mind when involving oneself in mischief.

Paddags is an amazing teacher because he really cares about what he does. Passionate, funny and deeply knowledgeable, he has made a great addition to the Ashland faculty and has already made an impression among his students.