If you have taken American Government, American Issues and Problems, Introduction to Comparative Politics, or an Introduction to International Relations class at Raymond Walters, you have most likely had the pleasure of being taught by the very reputable Professor Ionas Rus. Many are not shy to admit that this multi-lingual professor provides his intelligence and enthusiasm in the classroom each and every day. When I asked him of his experience and what he likes about Raymond Walters, he eagerly listed, “I enjoy the active class participation, small class sizes, how nice the students are,” then smiled and finished, “and the college atmosphere of faculty, staff, and students.”
The University of Cincinnati, Raymond Walters was lucky to add Professor Rus to their staff in 2008, as Assistant Professor of Political Science. Prior to coming to Cincinnati, Professor Rus had already claimed several accomplishments throughout his lifetime. Leaving Romania and coming to the United States with his parents in the late 1980’s, Rus was already aware of his interests in both History and Political Science.
Knowing his curiosity for both history and political science, I asked how he came to a conclusion to narrow his area of study.
“I liked the approaches, methods, and habits of Political Science”, he stated, “more than those of History.”
In May of 1995, he received his B.A. in History and Political Science from Rutgers College, New Brunswick, NJ. Then two years later received his M.A. in European/East Central European History from Columbia University, New York, NY. Then he finished in 2008 with a Ph.D. in Political Science from Rutgers as well.
While advancing his career, Professor Rus had several publications. His most renowned is his recent book, “The Electoral Patterns of The Romanian Far Right During the Interwar Years (1919-1937),” but many of his articles in academic journals were also important. In the Preface to the book, he notes, “This book was originally written as a Master of Arts thesis/essay in the Department of History at Columbia University in 1996-1997, but it was ultimately rooted in my previous work in Political Science.”
While he was preparing the thesis, he realized his desire to be a political scientist.
So far he said there hasn’t been a lot of feedback on the book. It may be too soon. “Until 2005,” he explained, “there was more interest in the articles and them being viewed in a positive light.” The very modest and gifted Professor is one students should not bypass when studying at Raymond Walters.