Orange Coast College

MARK ROESSLER - PART-TIME FACULTY MEMBER OF THE YEAR

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Mark Roessler

Some students complain about OCC political science instructor Mark Roessler’s difficult tests and complex lectures, but they keep coming back to his classes.

There were no empty seats in a recent meeting of Honors level Introduction to US Government, and every student was listening intently to Roessler’s colorful depiction of personal responsibility and ethics, a serious topic the instructor treated with humor.

It is no accident that Roessler, who has taught at Orange Coast College for 15 years, has been voted Part-Time Faculty Member of the Year for the third time. He won the recognition in 1999 and again in 2003.

“I really have to stretch myself in his class,” one student told OCC Counselor Steve Goetz, “but I just love his teaching. He makes everything so interesting and funny.”

Goetz, who nominated Roessler for the award, reports that students are “unanimously approving” the political science instructor’s teaching style, even though his classes are challenging.

“I’m thrilled to get nominated,” Roessler said. “The classroom is my stage.”

When it comes to teaching, “there’s always something interesting going on,” he observed. Often students have strong – and differing – opinions about a topic. “Young people can get too passionate,” especially with volatile topics, such as Israel and the Mideast. “I play the role of peacekeeper, serving as a wedge.”

Peacekeeping isn’t just a classroom exercise. Last month Roessler was invited to serve as an official election observer for the presidential primary in El Salvador on the recommendation of a former El Savadoran student. Since El Salvador is a poor country, the political science instructor paid his own way. He plans to use the experience in the classroom.

Roessler discovered his love for teaching while he was a graduate teaching assistant at Long Beach State, where he earned a Master’s degree in Soviet East European Studies.

“I didn’t want a 9 to 5, Monday – Friday, three-piece-suit kind of a job,” he said. He has been teaching ever since at several colleges, including Long Beach City College and Cypress. With experience teaching at several community colleges, Roessler is qualified to compare OCC with its nearby competitors. “This place is the best,” he declares.

A resident of Seal Beach, Roessler enjoys an occasional golf or tennis game, but his spends most of his free time reading. He is also the president of his condominium residents’ association.

Mark Roessler and Millie Sweesy-Barger will be honored at the recognition program for Outstanding Colleagues of the Year on Thursday, April 9th. The program is sponsored by Staff Development.