Colorado College | Bulletin

	35 Years of the Block Plan
	Gregg Easterbrook

Noteworthy writers and other scholars and professionals come to campus regularly to share their knowledge with students. Because of the Block Plan, we can invite them to teach for a day or a whole block, rather than just an hour or two at a time under a traditional semester system. Often, visiting professors also happen to be distinguished CC alumni, as in the case of Gregg Easterbrook ’76.

Gregg Easterbrook Q: What do you call a football haiku poet, novelist, New Republic and Atlantic Monthly editor, Brookings and Fulbright fellow who spent time as a bus driver and a used-car salesman?

A: A liberal arts graduate.

Add to that diverse resume Colorado College visiting professor, and you’ve described Gregg Easterbrook.

A political science major who made his way to journalism and powerhouse jobs at the Washington Monthly and Newsweek, Easterbrook is frequently tapped to comment on U.S. domestic policy, issues of faith and religion, and pro football. He has also become an influential voice on higher education and for small liberal arts colleges in particular. His current book, “The Progress Paradox,” was published by Random House.

Easterbrook teaches Journalism and Public Affairs at CC, which will be offered next in spring 2005.

The class examines the interaction between media and government in the U.S. and why they tend to bring out the worst in each other. The course also offers writing instruction in journalistic form and tips for “decoding” the news.

“I’ve had a great time teaching it,” Easterbrook said. “I run the class like a seminar. There’s a lot of reading every night and a lot of intense discussion.”

Easterbrook loved his CC liberal arts education and remembers especially Professors Fred Sondermann and Glenn Brooks, with whom he said he had a “tumultuous” relationship at the time.

“When I was in college, I didn’t understand Glenn or what he was telling us. Only long after I left his class did I figure out and come to truly appreciate his point of view,” Easterbrook said.

“CC has esprit. The Block Plan is great; it works especially well because of the flexibility and because the campus is located in such a beautiful place that makes for the perfect mix of learning and outdoor recreation,” Easterbrook said. “But even if CC used a more standard system, it would still be a special place.”

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