The centerpiece story on our front page today is the first in a series profiling instructors at Ohio University who hail from beyond America’s borders. If you’ve had one of these instructors in class during your time here, you have undoubtedly realized how an international background can contribute to a better understanding of just how interconnected our world is.
We begin with Amado Lascar, an assistant professor from Chile who teaches in the Modern Languages and Latin American Studies program. Lascar was 17 years old in 1973 when a military coup bombed the presidential palace in Santiago. Lascar’s school was only two blocks away from the palace, but on the day of the revolution, Lascar wasn’t there. He overslept.
Lascar has quite the story, and there are more in store this week as we look into the backgrounds of other international instructors at the university.
Preview of coming attractions:
Sport management instructor Gerard Akindes hopped around the globe (quite a bit) before finally landing in Athens. He was born in Benin, a small country in West Africa, moved to Togo for high school, attended universities in Cote d’Ivoire and Belgium, and moved to America after a stateside visit to attend the wedding of his brother, who attended Ohio University, and Akindes figured he should too. He’s been here for 14 years.
Wolfgang Sützl is a much newer addition to the university, having just started his first semester here as a visiting assistant professor in media. Sützl taught at universities in Germany, Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica and his native Austria. He just earned his United States visa a few months ago, and he hasn’t left Athens since moving here in November.
As you can see, these instructors bring a wealth of information — about both their subject matters and their cultural experiences — when they decide to come to Ohio University. We invite you to keep up with the series and read just a few of our faculty members’ fascinating stories.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
