My name is Blaine Garvin. I have taught American politics and the history of political theory at Gonzaga University since 1971 – which means that over 6,000 students have survived my courses! It also means that I’m pretty old. But take my word for it – I’m hanging in there.
My original home was Golden, Colorado, where I graduated from a high school that boasts of being the oldest in the state. I grew up halfway between, and within walking distance of, the Colorado School of Mines and the Coors Brewery.
After high school I spent my undergraduate years in Pennsylvania at Swarthmore College, my first time away from home. Then it was a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley – Berkeley in the late 60s, mind you – and from there I dashed straight to GU.
I’m forty-six years into my GU career. A number of my first students are retired or, sad to say, dead. But I’m not dead yet. Fifty years is within sight, even though my vision these days is pretty foggy.
My wife Susan, a GU grad, is a mental health counselor, which has helped. My son Sean lives in Bend, Oregon, with his wife Sarah and their nine-year old son, Carter. Sean makes beer for a living – he’s an assistant brew-master at Deschutes – and plays drums in a couple of bands. Sarah, a botanist, extracts seeds from native Oregon plants for the sake of species survival. Carter doesn’t yet pay his way, but I’m sure he will.
