“With election season underway, some members of the University of Akron are contributing to their favorite nominees. According to the Web site Campaignmoney.com, President Luis Proenza, Vice President for Capital Planning Theodore Curtis, and several other faculty members have contributed their own money to political campaigns.”
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With election season underway, some members of the University of Akron are contributing to their favorite nominees.

According to the Web site Campaignmoney.com, President Luis Proenza, Vice President for Capital Planning Theodore Curtis, and several other faculty members have contributed their own money to political campaigns.

According the Web site, Proenza contributed $1,000 to U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton (D-13) and $500 to Rudy Giuliani (R).

In an e-mail Proenza said, I think it is important that all citizens be informed about and involved in the political process.

However, Proenza said he could not talk about his personal contributions. Sharing my personal political involvement could lead someone to mistakenly infer some institutional endorsement of a political candidate or cause, and such institutional endorsements are not allowed, he said.

Proenza also touched on campaign laws and other regulations that restrict him from talking about his personal contributions.

There are numerous other laws – including IRS regulations and guidelines, Federal Election Commission regulations and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 – that touch on similar issues and impose similar constraints, he said.

However, other members of the faculty were able to speak about their choices.

Ted Curtis, for example, contributed $250 to U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (17-D) for Congress.

I think he can do our area some good, he said.

Curtis explained why he supports Ryan. He’s a person who appreciates what we are doing on this campus and he’s some who’s concerned about bringing enough jobs into Ohio, Curtis said.

As for the candidate that he is supporting in the presidential race, Curtis said, I haven’t decided on which Republican candidate I like.

Curtis did state that he is supporting Ryan not for personal reasons.

Personally he can’t help me, he said. But by helping the university, it helps me professionally.

I’m more interested in what someone is going to do for the country, state and students at the University of Akron. Curtis said.

The issue that Curtis wants to focus on the most is bringing more jobs into the state.

Bringing more jobs into Ohio means we have a stronger state and that’s a good feeling, he said.

Dr. Jay Dratler, professor of law, has supported the campaign of Obama for America not only once, but twice. Out of the staff he contributed the most, $2300.

I wanted to come to the maximum as quickly as possible, Dratler said.

However, Dratler is not that concerned with local politics. He believes that the biggest problems lie on a national level.

Dratler sees our country at risk and he believes that Obama is the candidate that can stop it.

He has what the ancient Greeks called virtue, Dratler said.

He is a once in a century leader. I haven’t seen anyone else so enthusiastic about since… five years when Robert Kennedy, Jack Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated in five years.

I haven’t seen anybody this good since then.

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