James Clauss Department: Classics-Professor Years with Upward Bound: First year I am a professor of Classics at the UW and have been teaching Latin and Greek here since 1984.  I have been married since 1978 and have 3 children, ages 8-15.  I love teaching, doing research, playing basketball, and guitar, and am committed to trying to make myself and my students THINK.  Oh yes and my kids too.

Tell one funny event that happened in your life.

Last year I had a mythology class of 250 students and was supposed to give a midterm exam on Friday and 1:30.  I got confused, thinking it was Thursday, and suddenly at 1:40, I realized my mistake.  I was a good distance from my office when the exams were, so I sprinted uphill, 1/3 mile, got my material, and sprinted to the class.  On my way, I saw many of the students leaving.  I entered the classroom and, out of breath, it took me 5 minutes before I could talk.   "Yes, I have finally made it!  I am an absent-minded professor."

Why did you decide to join the program?

In addition to making mega-bucks and becoming famous, I wanted to take part in this important and exciting program that involved helping HS students recognize that they can be at home in a university.  Plus the Classics are great and this was an opportunity to spread the word.

What do you think about the students in the program?

The students in this program are remarkably intelligent, even more so now that they have benefited from studying with me and Brady.   A sure sign of their intelligence is that they laugh at my jokes.  Seriously, I appreciated just how attentive they have been in class.  But hey, the Greeks and Romans ROCK!