Manhattan ? With his stint in Washington behind him, former Gov. John Carlin is back in his native Kansas, teaching political science to undergraduates at Kansas State University.

He’s spending time in the same building, Waters Hall, where he took dairy science classes years ago.

“Well, it’s like a lot of things – the campus changed dramatically in over 40 years, as have the athletics events,” said Carlin, who graduated from Kansas State in 1962. “But in an ironic twist, I’m still spending a lot of time in Waters Hall.”

Carlin spent 10 years in Washington as director of the National Archives and Records Administration. He and his wife, Lynn, bought a house in Manhattan in June, and now both are at Kansas State, Lynn Carlin as director of data management in the office of the vice provost.

John Carlin is not new to academia, having taught political science at Wichita State right after leaving office in 1987. Currently he’s teaching a three-credit course in Kansas politics to 16 students, most of them sophomores and juniors.

“I certainly hope they will come out with an increased understanding of Kansas government,” Carlin said. “I’ve pointed out to them that not only will we try to refine their basic skills like speaking and writing, I hope they will benefit from working together in groups successfully, regardless of where they are in the spectrum of politics. I want them to end up in the gray area and not be ‘black or white.”‘

Carlin will also serve as executive-in-residence for the political science department’s master’s in public administration program.

Carlin was elected governor in 1978 and won re-election four years later.