If you ever search for your favorite presidential inaugural speech or wonder which baseball games he attended, you should visit political science professor Russell Renka’s Web site.  His zeal for presidents is unmatched, and his site provides ample evidence with its endless supply of links to presidential information.

“Watergate really did influence me,” he says, “as did a dynamic professor named Lawrence Dodd who steered me into the study of legislatures.  It isn’t a huge jump to go from Capitol Hill to a comparable interest in the White House.” 

The two subjects became a joint concentration at the University of Texas-Austin, and  Renka arrived at Southeast in 1978 to teach both subjects.
 
Renka says he wanted to do research and teach at the college level because it allows self-direction and autonomy.  In addition, Renka has a distinct passion for his students. 

“If a professor doesn’t truly like students, he or she should find another line of work,” he says.  “A professor should take it as a calling to impart some understanding and appreciation of the world, even when students sometimes just want the test questions and the answers.”
 
With this in mind, most of Renka’s class time is spent posing questions or problems that need resolution.  He then tries to provide answers through compelling evidence.  This is his way of avoiding politics’ “self-appointed ‘experts.’” 

He therefore provides the following advice, “Examine the pertinent evidence carefully, and don’t permit loud-voiced pundits to divert you from drawing your own conclusions.”

Aside from researching presidents and teaching class, Renka has a seashell collection that goes back to his childhood. 

“They represent a blend of exotic places I cannot personally see, together with a brilliant display of nature’s symmetry -- great variation and innovation built around a single mathematical form—the Cartesian spiral,” he says. 

He now buys, sells and trades shells, and he would like to share his hobby with any old or new student with similar interests.  Just contact him.

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