UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 4, Page 5                                
September 24, 1992                                             
Professor teaches sociology seminar session abroad             
                                                               
     When Allan McCutcheon, associate chairperson of the sociology   
department, published his research on methods of analyzing class     
statistics, he did not guess that it would earn him an invitation to 
be one of six American professors teaching at the prestigious European        
Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) in England.  But, the       
six-week program, which is located at the University of Essex in     
Colchester, has become a summer tradition for McCutcheon since 1989. 
     "I was flattered and thrilled, " he said of his initial reaction
to the invitation. Fellow educators at the consortium were from such 
institutions as Harvard, the University of Texas at Austin and the   
University of Iowa.                                                  
     One of the attractions the program holds for him is the students.        
Graduate students are chosen from several countries to receive       
advanced training in up-to-date sociological theories and methods.   
     McCutcheon said he finds the students "interested and     
well-prepared.                                                       
     "I'm not walking into the average class," he explained. "I get to        
teach the material that I like, and I have a class of 25 students who
are highly motivated."                                               
     Despite their willingness to learn, McCutcheon discovered that  
teaching a cross-section of students from countries as varied as the 
Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Bulgaria poses some difficulties. The
European students, he said, are more in awe of professors than their 
American counterparts and often are "reluctant to ask questions." In 
order to "break down the distance between professor and student," he 
began to hold informal classes in the campus social center. Surrounded        
by food and light conversation, McCutcheon said, the students would  
unhesitatingly gather around a single table as he analyzed a         
class-related computer printout with them.                           
     The program has benefits in addition to its educational   
component. A native of the midwest, he enjoys the novelty of eating  
"fish-n-chips made by the local mom and pop" while drinking "pints of
British beer and watching boats come in."                            
     "There's a quiet little fishing village called Wivenhoe Park,   
outside of Colchester," he said, describing his favorite hiding place.        
"It's away from the modern pace of life."                            
     McCutcheon's three-year participation in the ECPR program has   
given him the chance to develop new friendships. In addition to      
socializing with his international colleagues, he said some of the   
local families have invited him to visit their homes when he returns 
next summer.                                                         
     "The British reserve is breaking down," he said with a smile.   
                                        -Casye Launer