Former minister of Scotland forms part of UA School of Law
Profile
Jonathan Crabtree
Issue date: 11/26/07 Section: News
Fulbright college has been understaffed and doesn't have a European political scientist anymore, so McLeish's classes have given students the opportunity to take the electives they need while learning from an expert, Davidson said.
"It's really interesting for students to get firsthand experience of what a politician can be," Davidson said. "I think it might make them [students] a little less cynical, [to] actually meet this down-to-earth guy who knows stuff and is really personable without being that fake slick kind of politician guy. I think it's important for students to realize that politicians aren't just all career lawyers who have decided to make money off the public purse."
CULTURE SHOCK
Henry has been coming to the U.S. for nearly 20 years. In 1988, he was one of five UK diplomats who were picked to spend four weeks in America partnered with a U.S. Congressman as part of the American visitors program.
"I was fixed up with a very radical liberal Democrat from Oklahoma named Mike Sinyard," McLeish said. He then visited Oklahoma and was a frequent guest lecturer at Oklahoma University and Oklahoma State University for the next decade and a half. He became an honorary citizen of Tulsa and has been to Oklahoma about 25 times.
When McLeish first visited Tulsa in the summer, it was 105 degrees outside. He was amazed at the amount of sunshine. He would sunbathe in his backyard for hours.
"I think the neighbors wanted to have me committed," he said. "But when you come from a place where there is no sun, you've got to take advantage of it while you got it."
Davidson first heard McLeish speak during one of his stints at OU. He was a visiting scholar at during a model EU the university was hosting. As an expert on politics in the EU, McLeish was a knowledgeable source.
"Obviously, I knew who he was, because he had just ceased to be the first minister of Scotland," she recalled. "When you meet him it's like, 'Oh my God, I'm meeting the first minister, but then you realize that he's not - I mean, he's just Henry. Over the last four or five years he's really just become Henry."
"It's really interesting for students to get firsthand experience of what a politician can be," Davidson said. "I think it might make them [students] a little less cynical, [to] actually meet this down-to-earth guy who knows stuff and is really personable without being that fake slick kind of politician guy. I think it's important for students to realize that politicians aren't just all career lawyers who have decided to make money off the public purse."
CULTURE SHOCK
Henry has been coming to the U.S. for nearly 20 years. In 1988, he was one of five UK diplomats who were picked to spend four weeks in America partnered with a U.S. Congressman as part of the American visitors program.
"I was fixed up with a very radical liberal Democrat from Oklahoma named Mike Sinyard," McLeish said. He then visited Oklahoma and was a frequent guest lecturer at Oklahoma University and Oklahoma State University for the next decade and a half. He became an honorary citizen of Tulsa and has been to Oklahoma about 25 times.
When McLeish first visited Tulsa in the summer, it was 105 degrees outside. He was amazed at the amount of sunshine. He would sunbathe in his backyard for hours.
"I think the neighbors wanted to have me committed," he said. "But when you come from a place where there is no sun, you've got to take advantage of it while you got it."
Davidson first heard McLeish speak during one of his stints at OU. He was a visiting scholar at during a model EU the university was hosting. As an expert on politics in the EU, McLeish was a knowledgeable source.
"Obviously, I knew who he was, because he had just ceased to be the first minister of Scotland," she recalled. "When you meet him it's like, 'Oh my God, I'm meeting the first minister, but then you realize that he's not - I mean, he's just Henry. Over the last four or five years he's really just become Henry."
Be the first to comment on this story