The third instructor to be featured in a series highlighting the new faculty members at SWOSU is Dr. David Searcy.
Searcy is a political science professor who has spent the last several years teaching at Cameron University in Lawton, but he grew up in Tipton and spent much of his time on SWOSU’s campus.
“I used to go to band camp here, and this is where I got my undergraduate degree,” Dr. Searcy said.
Dr. Searcy said he and his family like the small town aspect of Weatherford and the experiences that provides. “That is very appealing to me and my wife and our kids,” he said.
Dr. Searcy said it was “kind of by accident” he began to study political science. “I originally wanted to be an engineer. I was in a Calculus 2 class and I realized hated it,” he said. “I took a semester trying different things out. One of the classes I took was judicial politics and I found that to be interesting. I took more and more of those classes and that’s how I got my degree.”
“Foundations” by Isaac Asimov also helped Dr. Searcy choose his area of study. Although it is a fictional novel, the story helped him find his passion. “Foundations” is based on the idea you could learn enough about people and groups to predict their behavior during a long swath of time, and ultimately that’s what we do in political science.”
Since the political science department isn’t too big at SWOSU, Dr. Searcy teaches a variety of general education and upper level courses.
“What I would want more than anything is for students to walk out of class with me with some kind of knowledge or skill they can use in other classes,” Dr. Searcy said of his goals for upper level students.
For his general education students, Dr. Searcy said he wants them to be more informed citizens. “It’s not my job to tell them what their priorities should be or their values should be but how do you better use your own values and apply it in a setting. And ultimately I want to teach them to look at a subject from multiple sides, not to convince them that their beliefs are wrong and these are the correct ones,” he said.
“A hallmark of a civil society is we can disagree and still function. That has somewhat been lost within the last few years. If you can walk out of my general education class and better learn how to do your own values and see your political opponent as not evil, then I am pleased,” Dr. Searcy said.
Faculty fast facts
Go-to coffee order: black Favorite TV show: Sandman on Netflix Dream vacation: “I would like to go to a beach somewhere. I don’t care where.”
Favorite meal: “A really wellmade tamale” Best Christmas gift received as a child: “One time my grandparents got me a large bag and it was full of Ninja turtle action figures. I don’t know how many it was, but in my mind it was 30 and I just kept pulling them out. Nothing has been better than that.”
A book he could read over and over: Dune by Frank Herbert A day that’s not a national holiday but should be: Election Day