UW-Parkside's Renaissance Man

About a year ago I found out that being a Wisconsin resident--at least 60 years of age--qualified me to audit a maximum of two courses per semester at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. No credits or grades, but also, no reports, exams, homework, term papers, or tuition—no tuition? That's right. Absolutely no charge--nada--zip--zero. As 'freebies' go this is a great one and just when we were getting use to the idea that nothing in life was free. I hadn't been in a college classroom for over half a century, and when I sat in on my first class at Parkside, it seemed like only half a day ago. All the old feelings and expectations came flooding back—except, of course, the 'pressure.' This was going to be a great adventure. Early on, I attended a lecture on the current economic crisis facing our nation and the world. During the question and answer period I voiced my disagreement with a comment from a fellow member of the audience. At the close of the event, a very pleasant, though studious looking gentleman asked for my e-mail address, promising to forward me some documentation supporting my point of view. Thus, my personal introduction to Professor of Economics, Norman R. Cloutier (Pronounced “cloo-tee-ae”). As I was about to learn rather quickly, he is a most unique individual.
If a seventh grader should ask for a look at your household budget; or a freshman high schooler wants your opinion of the business model for the Green Bay Packers; or an eight year old rattles off a few statistics from a recent study on 'World Hunger'-- let me help you overcome your befuddlement. Professor Cloutier, former Chair of the Economics Department at UW-Parkside, founded an organization in 2005 called the Center for Economic Education. Simply put, the program is designed to train K-12 teachers on how to provide a foundation for understanding and appreciating economics by showing its relevance to history and other social studies as well as to the students' everyday lives. Along with being schooled in the subject matter, the teachers learn to present the material in ways that the students find to be fun, especially when applying it to real life situations. Of substantial benefit, is the continuous access to an abundance of instructional tools such as PowerPoint presentations, articles, charts and graphs. I have read many e-mails from people who have taken advantage of this CEE training and workshops and their enthusiasm is compelling. Professor Cloutier can be justly proud of this highly successful undertaking.
My first exposure to another 'Cloutier Innovation' took place long before I ever heard his name. My lovely wife, possibly troubled by my obvious lack of 'cultural pursuits,' began taking me to the award winning foreign films being shown at UW-Parkside. The price was right and they became more entertaining as I gradually adjusted to the distracting subtitles. (With advancing years taking a toll on my hearing ability, I now rely on them for English films as well) Norm Cloutier originated the Foreign Film Series, and has been its Director for the past 28 years. Multitudes of local residents, especially seniors like myself, look forward to these marvelous films every season. Here is but one example of how a school like UW-Parkside enriches the lives of an entire community in countless ways.
Born in Alaska, now living in Racine, he received his Bachelor's degree at Drew University and his Master's and Doctoral degrees at West Virginia University, where he did his early teaching. He came to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in 1981, where he was tenured in 1987 and promoted to Professor in 1997. He is married and the very proud father of a son and daughter, both attending college at UW-La Crosse. With your kind permission, I will dispense with the typical litany of 'achievements' and 'awards'--Google can do that for us. I just want to express my own impressions of this extremely energetic educator who, besides teaching courses in economics, is the liaison between the UW-P Faculty and Athletic Department and a member of the Search Committee for a new Provost/Vice Chancellor. He is the author and co-author of numerous articles and papers on a wide range of economic topics (back to Google). He writes as well as any journalist I have ever read—always concise, factual, and interesting. Not real 'political'--he is center-right on fiscal matters and definitely 'progressive' on most social issues.
The tall, slim, youthful, 57 year old, Cloutier enters his classroom with an air of comfortable confidence and a cheerful greeting to all present. Clad in jeans and an open collar dress shirt, he gives the impression he has come to teach-- and teach, he does—extremely well. Featuring a rather soft, friendly voice, his lecturing style is more 'conversational' than 'formal,' expecting--and getting--continuous input from the class. He is direct and easy to understand with the implication that whatever isn't understood can be revisited with patient attention and no risk of embarrassment. He seems to speak 'with' his students instead of 'at' them. In short-- he engages them. At a point during one of his presentations where I thought the subject matter a little dull, I scanned the room and could find not one person who wasn't completely attentive. His pupils like him--and it shows. I also happen to like him. In the vernacular of my youth he would, quite properly, be described as a “good guy.”
Norman Cloutier is but one of several exceptional faculty members at this fine, four-year university. I have met some, and look forward to knowing many more. I eagerly expect to avail myself of more and varied subjects, such as psychology, literature, computers, criminal justice, political science, sociology, philosophy, history...the list is long. The problem is finding time for all the shows, concerts, lectures, discussion groups, sports events, and exhibits happening on this state-of-the-art campus, almost daily. You can understand why I am, sometimes, a little overwhelmed; but, when it comes to economics (or great foreign films) Norm Cloutier is my guy.

Terry Tynan