Congressman John Yarmuth is returning to the University of Louisville again, this time as a weekly guest lecturer in the political science department.
This semester, Yarmuth will be co-teaching the 300-level American Congress class alongside department chair Jasmine Farrier. The first class was Monday.
Yarmuth's spokesman, Christopher Schuler, said in an email that the Congressman "greatly enjoys it so far." The position is unpaid.
U of L's course catalog describes the class as an analysis of internal and external forces that "interact to determine the role of the Congress in the making of public policy."
Yarmuth, a Democrat, represents Kentucky's 3rd District. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2006. Prior to that, he worked in various industries, including as vice president of University Relations at U of L. In 2018, he pledged $10,000 to the school's student newspaper.
A spokesman for the university, John Karman, said Farrier plans to schedule Republican guest lecturers during the class.
She told WFPL in an email that Yarmuth has previously addressed her class, as has Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican who represents Kentucky's 4th District. She also pointed out that students on campus hear from Sen. Mitch McConnell at open lectures each year. In 1991, McConnell founded a center for leadership at the university that bears his name.
"The politically diverse student group was absolutely delighted to have him in class yesterday. I introduced him with a full biography, including the fact that he was a registered Republican through the early 1980s," Farrier said. "He explained to them that his role in the class is not to persuade, and I joked that we will hold him to that promise."
She said the Congressional representatives and staffers who speak to her students bring class materials to life.
