Former Senator John Sununu is teaching a course offered this current Spring Semester in NHIOP,
with the course’s content surrounding Congressional Power. The course, an introduction to
the history, structure, and role of Congress in the U.S. draws from the “Congressional Power” course
offered by Dr. Jennifer Lucas in past semesters, according to the course’s syllabus.

Although Sununu was involved in politics as a former senator, he actually did not study politics in
college. With a family that became active in politics in the 1970s, Sununu became exposed to poli
tics early in his life, working with his father “on his campaigns as a kid, as did all my brothers and sisters,” Sununu said. “I enjoyed the process. I learned a lot about different kinds of candidates, different kinds of politicians and sort of slowly formed my own thoughts about what public
service meant, “ Sununu said. Regarding his arrival to the classroom setting at Saint Anselm,
Sununu said “I have a number of friends who either work or teach at the Institute of Politics, and I’ve
spoken to them from time to time
since leaving the Senate about teaching.”
With thoughts of entering the classroom on his mind, Sununu reached out through Neil
Levesque about a year ago to some of the faculty at Saint Anselm, todetermine if he was a good fit to
teach a class at the college, “drawing on some of my experience in politics, in the House and in the
Senate,” while also finding “something that fit in the curriculum,”
Sununu said.Upon further discussion, Sununu spent time speaking with Dr. Lucas about the U.S. Congress course that had been offered to students in the past. “I essentially
built a similar course in syllabus around that U.S. Congress course, with a little more focus on some
specific issues,” Sununu said. Now teaching the Congressional Power course this semester,
Sununu’s prior experience in the House and the Senate definitely has an impact,” on shaping the
course and the way it is taught, Sununu said. “It gives me a sense of what the important issues are to
stress and emphasize in a curriculum about the history and structure of the U.S. Congress,” Sununu
“It also gives me the ability to use personal experiences and examples, and to share those
real life examples, hopefully in away that reinforces the material,”Sununu said.
The course, following historic concepts, documents, and principles that have shaped the structure
and function of Congress, also looks to provide an understanding to the various processes that are
undergone by legislators, looks at policymaking, and describes the decisions that have shaped events
in Congressional history, according to the syllabus. Ultimately, Sununu hopes that
students taking this course gain “first and foremost a real appreciation for how the legislative
branch of our federal government was designed, what the objectives of the framers of the Constitution
were in setting up the Congress, how they viewed its role and its powers, and then to translate that
or to use that understanding to draw conclusions about whether it’s achieved its intended effects,”
Sununu said. “And then, I think, lastly, through one of the textbooks that
we’ve used in some writing in the class to develop a deeper understanding for individual members of Congress that really help define and shape the institution,their approach to their job, their
approach to using power,” Sununusaid.
With the guidance of a former
U.S. Senator in a course about
Congressional power, students
enrolled in the class are not blind
to the opportunity that Sununu’s
experience provides. Elizabeth
Duffin ’25 is enrolled in the
course, and Duffin said “It is a
super unique opportunity to have
a class like Congressional Power
taught by a former US Senator. It’s
incredibly valuable to have some
one with previous roles in both
the House of Representatives and
Senate apply these experiences to
the classroom.”
Duffin’s general interest in politics lies within her fascination in“other people’s perspectives and
how these experiences inform people’s opinions on what is best for the nation. I hope that by per
suing a career in politics, I can use these perspectives to refocus our political culture on public service
as opposed to partisan division.

Whether people realize it or not,
politics is a part of everyday life
and it is our responsibility as citi
zens to remain engaged , informed
and committed!” Duffin said.
At this point in the semester,
under the syllabus the “the class
content covers a lot of topics,”
Duffin said, amd “we have dis
cussed the intended differences
between the House of Represen
tatives and the Senate, the fluctu
ating reputation and perception
of Congress throughout history,
the culture that exists within Con
gress, Congress’ relationship to
the president and the people, and
a lot more.”
Similarly to Senator Sununu, Duffin finds a lot of value in understanding the legislative processes and power of Congress in the legislative branch of our federal government.
“It is important to learn about the history and purpose of Congress in order to effectively assess
its performance today,” Duffin said.
With the real life experience that
Sununu brings to the course, “I’m
very happy that Senator Sununu
is willing to teach this course and
bring his experiences and knowl
edge to Saint A’s students. It would
be awesome if Saint A’s could con
tinue this tradition,” Duffin said.