The Best

When a reporter from the New York Times or Newsweek wants insight on a politician in Texas or the views of the Mexican-American voter, The University of Texas-Pan American’s own professor of political science, Dr. Jerry Polinard, ranks high on their calling list of experts.

In his 37 years at the University, where he initiated the Department of Political Science in 1973 and served as its first chair, Polinard has come to be known as the “go to” person for more than just political commentary. For students and his colleagues, Polinard is also the “go to” person for excellence in teaching and guidance into becoming a legal professional. Whatever his role, he does it with passion.

“They say if you love what you do you never work a day in your life. A half hour into my very first class I taught I remember thinking to myself this is great, this is fantastic. It has remained that way for 40 plus years. To me, the classroom is magic,” he said.

Polinard, a native Texan from Corpus Christi, worked on ships at that town’s docks during high school and college. He said his intellectual interests and values were rooted in the 1960s counterculture, a transformational era noted for the Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War.

He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&I, now Texas A&M-Kingsville, and his Ph.D. in government from the University of Arizona.

When Polinard joined the University in 1972, he said it was an exciting period of growth in enrollment, faculty and construction.

“It was exciting in terms of the administration, exciting in the terms of teaching, and exciting in the terms of students. The University today is somewhat similar. We have a nice base of junior faculty here in our department and they have that same look in their eyes that I had,” he said.

Polinard’s research and scholarly publications, including three co-authored books, have focused on Mexican-American political behavior, particularly on how the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has affected Mexican-American political empowerment. He often collaborates on research with his longtime friend and colleague Dr. Robert Wrinkle, also a political science professor.

“Right now we’re doing research on Mexican-Americans’ trust in judges. We’ve also done research on Mexican-American attitudes toward immigration and how they compare to Anglo attitudes,” he said.

His knowledge and opinions are not only sought statewide and nationally. Locally he has served as KRGV Channel 5’s premier political analyst since 1978, covering the last four presidential political conventions.

“I view commenting as an expert on current issues as part of the University’s commitment to the community. Plus, I get to talk to people about politics – that’s fun,” he said.

As a teacher, he is a strong advocate of the Socratic method of instruction which involves asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking.

“I’m more interested in why rather than what. The questions we ask don’t have correct answers on whether you, for example, support or oppose capital punishment, gay marriage, abortion, or affirmative action – there is no two plus two equals four kind of answer. I think the purpose of a University education is to develop an intellectual process by which students develop their positions on different issues, positions that no doubt will be changing,” he said.

Wrinkle, who has known Polinard for 49 years, called him the best teacher he has ever known.

“His greatest strength is his ability to inspire students, although he is also the most demanding teacher that I know,” Wrinkle said.

Polinard’s expertise in the classroom was most recently recognized with the College of Social and Behavioral Science’s 2009 Excellence in Teaching Award. As the University’s longtime pre-law adviser and active participant in national pre-law associations to develop and improve law-related education, Polinard has received the Leon Jaworski Award for Teaching Excellence in Law Focused Education for the State Bar in 2006 and the Hidalgo County Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award in May 2009.

Annie Franco, a senior from McAllen majoring in political science, who works as a research assistant to Polinard, said he definitely lives up to his reputation as a tough professor. However, she took every course he taught except one and said he inspired her to pursue a doctorate and become a political science professor.

“He is very knowledgeable and his use of the Socratic method helps students internalize the subject matter as well as sharpen their analytical skills. He requires students to develop oral and written communication skills, and he is one of the few non-English professors who especially emphasize the latter. As he frequently says ‘clarity of writing reflects clarity of thinking,’” she said.

Both Franco and research assistant John Flores, a 2008 UTPA graduate with double majors in political science and psychology, attended the University’s Law School Preparation Institute (LSPI), a program initiated at UTPA in 2001 to better prepare students interested in a legal career to enter and succeed in law school. Polinard is the LSPI coordinator and teaches one of its three courses.

Juniors and seniors of any major who meet stringent academic requirements are invited to participate in the intellectually and physically demanding program that meets eight hours a day and on Saturday during Summer Session II each year. Up to 20 students are selected to attend LSPI, which requires completion of intensive analytical reading and writing assignments conducted by Polinard and other UTPA faculty. LSPI also provides professional Kaplan training to prepare to take the LSAT.

“What we focus on in the institute is training their analytical skills. I tell them I don’t care if they are going to be a lawyer but I tell them they are going to write better, speak better and think better,” Polinard said. “Not only is it one of the most rigorous educational programs on campus but one of the most successful. Over 90 percent of the LSPI students who have applied to law school have been accepted. The national average is 60 percent. More important to me is that I am confident they are better students as a result of the experience.”

Flores, who will enter The University of Texas School of Law in fall 2009, said LSPI helped him get a taste of the law school experience.

“We had mock classes with real law school professors and we met with representatives of various law schools,” he said. “Dr. Polinard helped me with all the things I needed to do to get into law school. Once admitted, he helped me decide what school was best for me.”

Flores called Polinard a “great professor” who has played a significant role in reaching his career goals.

“Dr. Polinard was available outside class to answer a question, review a paper or just have a friendly conversation. He has a great sense of humor and makes learning fun. Dr. Polinard helps people realize their dreams. And he also helps people dream. He is the kind of guy who genuinely wants to see the common man succeed,” Flores said.

For attorney Aurelio Garza, the skills he learned in LSPI four years ago made his transition to and experience in the University of Houston College of Law much smoother.

Garza graduated in 2005 from UTPA with a major in criminal justice and from law school in December 2008. He now works for McLaren & Associates Law Firm in McAllen. He will return to the LSPI in July to speak to the newest class.

Garza recalled in his LSPI Legal Writing course, Polinard would put each student’s writing assignment on a projector he named “Overhead of Joy” to be dissected before the class in order to improve the students’ writing skills.

“I was the first one who got his paper put up on the projector and we were all scared of this. One of the things I remember writing was “needless to say’ at a start of a sentence. He criticized me for that because he said ‘if it is truly needless to say, why write it,’” Garza said.

“I’m glad for his guidance and support. He’s been an essential part of me becoming who I am,” Garza said.

For more information on the Department of Political Science, call 956/381-3393.