The large wooden desk in front of the classroom overpowered the small room. Papers scattered out from a folder lying open on top of the desk. Dr. Dennis H. Pope, grasped the sides of the podium, glanced at the 25 students sitting in his class and began his lecture.
“Let’s pick up where we left off. What is Locke’s definition of the State of Nature?”
As hands flew up Pope engaged the class in a lively discussion about human nature and what the world would be like sans politics. The interesting examples and humorous comments not only had students chuckling, but left a smile on Popes face long after class ended. Teaching is not considered work, said Pope. It is just another of the many things he enjoys.
“I guess I’m fortunate in that regard,” said Pope.
Pope grew up in the town of Secaucus New Jersey. When he inherited his family homestead 10 years ago, he moved back into his childhood home. Pope is an only child and lives with his dog (Ginger) and three cats (Tut, Orpheus, and Tiger.) He attended Rutgers University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Arts, and a Doctor of Philosophy in political science.
Pope was introduced to politics at a young age. Both his father and mother’s side of the family were highly involved in politics.
“My father’s brother was a local elected official. I remember standing on the street corner when I was eight years old handing out his campaign literature on Election Day,” said Pope.
Spending a good portion of his youth in the 1960s around politics, Pope developed a real curiosity about politics and how they work. This interest led to a personal in depth exploration of the subject at the age of 14, said Pope.
Pope started college and not long after declared political science as his major. Deciding to become a political science professor was due to a moment Pope recalls rather vividly from his youth.
“My professor at the time, Heinz Seelbach, who later became my mentor, looked down at me as he walked past me one day and said, ‘Pope, what do you want to be when you grow up?’” said Pope, “I respectfully responded, ‘To be just like you.’ He grunted and said, ‘It’s a good life’ before walking on.”
Along with finding inspiration in his mentor, Pope started taking seminar courses in his upperclassmen days. There were certain requirements such as presenting projects and papers to the class that happened more frequently than normal in these classes, said Pope.
“It was always something that felt very natural to me, and so I guess you can say my path from that point on was chosen,” said Pope.
Spare time is a concept that most students and faculty understand quite well, time for them to run errands or finish up homework. For Pope spare time doesn’t actually exist.
“The concept of hobbies or spare time is a little different for me. Hobbies to me always seemed to be something people did to get a break from what they were doing for a living. In this regard, I don’t have borders in my life,” said Pope.
Everyday he spends time participating in things he enjoys. Whether it is reading about the “Framers of The Constitution,” adding to an extensive collection of music (Pope is partial to Jazz, Opera and traditional Folk music), watching a movie, or even painting miniature figures (one of his favorite past times) time is spent in a productive manner, said Pope.
“Sometimes I just sit and think for an hour or so. I also sometimes sit and write. It could be opinions, reflections, fiction, song lyrics, or poems. Anything to keep creativity flowing,” said Pope.“I guess you could say I have an active mind that just keeps going when I get up in the morning and shuts down when I sleep, but then again I do have some very interesting dreams.”
Middlesex County College is not the first place to employ Pope as an adjunct instructor of political science. Pope received his first job at Kean University in 1974. He has also worked at William Paterson University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Drew University, Union County College and Bergen Community College.
From 1975-1999 Pope was employed by the Town of Secaucus New Jersey. He held several prominent positions within that time frame. CETA Youth Placement Coordinator (1975), Chief-of-Staff to the Mayor of Secaucus (1976-1980), Recreational Facilities Director (1980-1985), Administrative Coordinator (1985-1991), and Municipal Court Administrator (1991-1999), said Pope.
As if being involved with activities such as these weren’t enough, Pope has been working on several writing projects outside of teaching at MCC.
“I’m working on revising my biography of Justice Bradley, another project which I’m co-authoring that is just getting off the drawing boards,” said Pope. “It deals with professional boxing in New Jersey. I also occasionally do some political consulting for political candidates, but only if I believe in the person.”
To keep political science interesting for incoming students, Pope is always trying to reinvent his courses. On the surface you can probably cruise through each class using yesterday’s notes and last semester’s assignments, but if this is done, ultimately you loose the enthusiasm you started out with, said Pope.
“I try to remember how things were for me as a student forty years ago. This helps me relate better and tailor my classes to the people I’m teaching. It’s very important to keep this kind of perspective,” said Pope.
If one cannot relate to the students one teaches, then they can’t teach them. It’s important to be approachable, said Pope. As far as Pope is concerned, goals are again something he doesn’t strive for. He does what he wants, accomplishes what he sets out to do and is content where his life is now.
“In regards to personal attainment, I’ve pretty much gotten to where I was heading as far as education goes and how I earn my living. This of course is one of the benefits of growing older, at least in my case,” said Pope.
