The Collegian

Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: News

The "Duke of Osseo" is scheduled to return next semester. Retired English professor Jim Jureo, 72, intends to teach a 400-level course on 18th century literature.

Though retired seven years, Juroe said he is still full of energy.

"I can whip half the guys on the student body," he said. "I can whip everybody on the faculty."

Professor of Christianity and Literature John Reist, a "steadfast friend" of Jureo's, said he expects students will like Juroe.

"He has that ability to liven up the conversation," Reist said. "He can make just about anything funny."

Students have called Juroe a duke in a mock-heroic fashion because the Osseo, Mich., "dukedom" consists of a 50-person town, Juroe said.

English Department Chairman Michael Jordan said he invited Jureo to teach again to expose the students to a fun retired professor as well as help with teacher work loads and fill in for sabbaticals.

"Even though he's retired, he's not fired, and he's eager to teach again," Jordan said.

Juroe retired because classes strained his eyes. However, this time he will only teach one course, which he is more than capable of doing, he said.

The course will focus on 18th century writers such as Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, John Dryden and John Locke. Juroe prefers this period because so many of today's ideas began in that era, he said.

Juroe said the course will probably run on a three-hour block on Mondays so that he can continue with his current job, traveling to schools throughout the nation to establish Oxford Abroad programs. He plants programs like an academic "Johnny Appleseed," he said.

Both Reist and Juroe spent their undergraduate education together.

"He thought I was a wise guy, and I thought he was a wise guy," Reist said. "Of course, we both were wrong."

At school they were both casual pranksters and have remained friends ever since then. When Juroe's son was born, he named the child John Erwin after Reist and Reist's twin brother Erwin, Reist said.

At 31, Juroe left his job at Burroughs Co., a machinery company, to obtain a Ph.D. in English literature. After coming to Hillsdale in 1971 for an annual salary of $10,200, he established Hillsdale's Oxford program and arranged for students to see and teach in China during the summer. Some students are still there, he said.

Also, Juroe helped shape the great books program to the core curriculum, he said. In those years, the college was dwindling and there was talk about closing the school completely, he said.

"The resurrection came by the great efforts of many people who quietly rolled up their sleeves and set to work," Juroe said.

Ultimately, when Juroe retired after 30 years of teaching, hundreds of students threw him a surprise going-away party to show how deeply they appreciated him, Reist said.

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