Professor in Rome

Interview | Berry College's Peter Lawler critiques those who | Marvin Olasky

ROME, Ga. -- Peter Augustine Lawler was giving a walking tour of his Berry College campus to a visitor this summer when a problem emerged: One heel of the political scientist's well-worn loafers was hanging by only a few strands of rubber.

A lesser mind would have tried to repair the shoe, the way many other academics attempt to fix worn-out American liberalism, but Mr. Lawler acted radically and tore off the heel entirely. The walk did not have a happy ending—he half-shuffled, half-limped back to his car—but one of America's most prominent conservative professors had once again gone boldly where few colleagues had gone before.

Mr. Lawler has taught at this highly ranked, 1,800-student school northwest of Atlanta for 26 years, and such longevity is also unusual in today's flighty academic culture. He takes obvious pleasure in emphasizing that Berry is a place where professors teach a lot and have at least 10 scheduled office hours for students, who in turn are expected to come to class, participate in discussions, and refrain from cheating. As Mr. Lawler describes his charges, "They may not read the assignments, but they don't brag about it."