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Photo by Jim Craven Ashland Police Chief Scott Fleuter is one of several community leaders bringing real-life experience into classrooms at Southern Oregon University. SOU pupils get real-life teachers Civic leaders tell is like it is about job world By DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- When Southern Oregon University student Amanda Lovell walks into her Wednesday night criminal justice class each week, she doesn't learn theory from someone who's been holed up in the ivory tower of academia all his life; she hears from a man who protects her very own town -- Ashland's police chief. Lovell, a senior, said the real-life experience that Chief Scott Fleuter brings to her community policing class expands her view beyond the textbooks and theory she's studied for so long. It also brings the harsh world into the classroom. "Students go through a culture shock getting into the work force," she said. "But when you have someone in the work force who teaches, it gives you a buffer. "You know you aren't going to get the good hours when you start out as a police officer." Fleuter is one of a number of community leaders who are bringing their expertise into SOU classrooms these days. Former congressman Les AuCoin, Bear Creek marketer Chuck Jaeger, a Bureau of Land Management biologist and an Oregon Shakespeare Festival administrator have all graced SOU classrooms. "It's part of the overture to the community to get people involved and partner with us in certain ways," said university President Stephen Reno, who also teaches a class at SOU. "Some of the leaders are saying, 'I'd like to do some teaching'." Reno noted that community involvement is vital at SOU, where 78 percent of last year's graduating class had done a practicum or internship before graduation. It's the highest percentage of any college in Oregon except the Oregon Institute of Technology. "The student is getting a fuller, more well-rounded education," Reno said. One example of the way Southern is promoting the bond between the community and university is a partnership with Bear Creek Corp. The university is paying two-thirds of the salary for professor Jaeger, while Bear Creek pays one-third. Jaeger -- who hails from the Silicon Valley and has a background in Internet marketing -- was hired for the special program this year. He works as a professor three-quarters of the time teaching classes such as Internet marketing, while one-quarter of his work time is spent as a special consultant to the executive vice president of marketing at Bear Creek. He plans to integrate the teaching and the consulting. "I'm going to have some student projects that will help Bear Creek that will relate to Internet marketing," he said. "Bear Creek, being the biggest private industry employer in the valley outside of health care and being a responsible well-run business ... it's an excellent laboratory for students to understand how business works." The faculty in the business school of the university has many teachers from business backgrounds, he noted. "There are a lot of schools you go to where the professors are so insulated from the business world they only talk about theory and it doesn't always apply to the real business world," he said. "The fact that many of us come straight from the business world and some of us still are involved helps." AuCoin, who represented the First District of northwest Oregon from 1975 to 1993, teaches two classes at SOU: "Inside Congress" and "Northwest Salmon Wars: Science, Politics and Policy." Eric Dittmer, head of the environmental studies program at SOU, said working with people like AuCoin brings a national perspective to the local natural resource issues. "This turns out to be a highly complimentary experience for dealing with the legal and moral issues relating to environmental issues," Dittmer said. "(AuCoin's) contacts with key people who make the major decisions really add to the course. I've heard students say this experience is among the best they've had at SOU." Lovell is taking her second class from chief Fleuter. She said she appreciates the enthusiasm and fresh experiences he brings into class. "His experiences as an officer and chief give us insight to always look at things with different angles," Lovell said. "And it expands our horizons about what we consider the right way to do things." Not only do the students benefit, but the city's police department profits from the situation as well, Fleuter said. "It keeps me sharp," he said. "The students are asking probing questions. And I get so busy as a chief, what forces me to read the professional journals is preparing for my classes. But when asked how hard it is to go from giving out tickets to handing out grades, Fleuter responded: "Isn't it kind of the same thing?" "Finals are much harder and much more dangerous," he joked. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA