George Guo joined the Guilford College community as an associate professor of political science at the beginning of this semester. He brings with him expertise in East Asian politics and the knowledge of what it takes to become a well respected scholar. “With one book out and another one on the way, George is a hot commodity as far as his reputation in East Asian Studies,” said Ken Gilmore, political science chair and associate professor. “There are not too many people out there who can teach all the things he can.”

Prior to coming to Guilford, Guo taught at the University of Virginia, where he also received his Ph.D. He was eager to make the switch to a smaller school, which would allow him to teach a larger variety of courses and interaction more with his students.

“At a big university you are assigned to teach the courses narrowly limited within your fields,” Guo said. “At a small college, the school and your colleagues are more supportive, and you have more opportunities for interaction with students. In a class of 50 students, there was no way I could get to know all of them.”

Guilford College was a good fit for Guo’s desire to find a smaller, more interactive community. And with the aid of the Freeman Foundation Asian Studies grant, the school was able to fund his position.

“The Freeman grant pays George’s salary for the first four years,” said Interim Vice President and Academic Dean Adrienne Israel. “Dottie Borei, who is the director of international studies and who is currently leading a study abroad program in China, worked with the former president, Don McNemar, to get the grant written.”

This semester, Guo is teaching Comparative Politics of East Asia, Human Rights and Democracy in China, and Introduction to Classical Political Thought. He takes a unique approach to all three.

“I require my students to be highly engaged in my classes,” Guo said. “My teaching style is to encourage students, and to train students to have both the knowledge and skills required for their future jobs and continued study in graduate school.”

Guo considers writing ability to be the most fundamental of these skills.

“In all my courses, no matter the level, you have to learn to write papers. I train everyone to follow the stipulated format and standards to be a scholarly writer,” said Guo.

Many of Guo’s students appreciate the skills he is providing them with.

First-year Cathy Jacques is taking Classics in Political Thought with Guo. In this course, Guo “teaches his students how these people thought and why, which allows the students to form their own ideals about the world through critical thinking and observation,” said Jacques.

Senior Leah Langford also feels that she is benefiting greatly from the two courses (Human Rights in China and Comparative Politics in East Asia) she is taking with Guo.

“George brings the Political Science department an Asian expertise. I have learned Asian culture, history and politics,” said Langford. “As a political science major interested in pursuing a career in International Politics, the depth of knowledge about Asia is necessary to be successful.”

With the additional time and attention Guo devotes to students here at Guilford, he must balance the amount of time he devotes to his own scholarly commitments, such as lecturing and writing.

“You need to hold more office hours here, which is a huge difference from UVA,” Guo said. “There are five required office hours each week when you are teaching three courses at Guilford.”

Guo finds a balance between teaching and writing by sharing the findings of his current research with his students and encouraging them to give him feedback.

“I always share my ideas with my students. I encourage them to challenge me,” Guo said. “I train them to have creative and critical thinking and I share with them how to become a scholar.”

In Gilmore’s eyes, Guo’s emphasis on teaching students how to become scholars is one of his biggest contributions to the political science department .

“I want my students to see what a scholar looks like,” said Gilmore. “George is a scholar first and foremost, and he brings that scholarship to his teaching. I think it is important to reinstitute the emphasis on research and scholarship to enhance our teaching.”