David Fischer

I could describe him forever. Direct, straightforward, high-class, noble more than perceptive and dexterous. The only one in the department, who can truly tell you how the world works. If you email him 7 questions a day, you will see 7 replies in your mailbox. Give him maximum 2 hours to reply for each- unless of course he is in a meeting or abroad. This shows how multi-task, level-headed, responsible and loyal to his students he is.

He always has a story to tell. I don't know him outside of the department setting, but I do believe his family is very fortunate to have him. If I were his daughter, boy! I would enjoy never-ending conversations with him.

He is very compelling and I think conservative, which I admire about him. Most importantly, he respects himself and others equally.

Ambassador Fischer is one of his kind.

Mireille B.

Ambassador Fischer is a truly uniqe individual. His experience as an ambassador and as the head of a major non-profit has given him valuable experience and the insight necessary to give students information about the available career options one can have with an IR degree. IR 200 was a piece of cake, but I got so much out of it...practical information on how I can enrich my experiences and try to figure out what I want to do with my life. His motto is " just go for it.." and I, along with many of his students really took it to heart. Ambassador Fischer is indeed proud of his background, but contrary to popular belief, he is not arrogant and is easy to approach. He's also got a unique sense of humor...he's sarcastic and he'll make these comments that make the entire class laugh when least expected. And what he says doesn't come out as a joke, maybe he doesn't mean to be funny...I don't know, you'll see when and if you take a course with him. Unfortunately, IR 200 isn't going to be offered next semester, but other courses are taught by him, like the terrorism/intelligence course. If possible, take a course with Ambassador Fischer, you won't regret it at all. And remember, keep your options open as far as careers go...there's so much going on out there. And...YOU'RE STILL YOUNG!! ( probably)

Ambassador Fischer is an interesting professor with a ton of interesting stories. Much better and well versed in the real world of IR rather than most of the other professors in the department who are more concerned with theory and academia. Especially good to take and get to know if you are considering government as a career.

He gave our class all the reading on a CD the first day. No textbook costs, which was great. He says in the syllabus that he'll call on you randomly in class to summarize the weeks reading, but he never did. He threatens to give pop quizzes about it, but only did so once during the semester.

There is a midterm based on the reading, and for our final we had to answer 2 of 3 questions in a take home essay. There's also a 15 page term paper, but he's pretty leniant about the topic and the content. He approved everyone's term paper topic that I know of, no matter what it was about. He seems to be an easy grader, I received A's on every assignment/test and didn't have to stay up all night preparing anything.

One thing I should mention, while I never had a problem with it... I heard complaints from the class that his voice put them to sleep, that he was unorganized and wasn't clear with his expectations of you. I think both are untrue, but there's some validity to the comments.

Personally, I think he's the best professor in the IR department and I look forward to taking another class with him next semester.

Fischer is an interesting individual who has had a variety of life experiences...which he's more then happy to tell you about (over and over and over again). As far as I'm concerned he's teaching the wrong class. He gives the impression that he's just as bored with the class as you are with him, and that both sides have better things to do, but since it's a requirement there'e no choice in the matter. For future students be prepared to do not a damn thing...

Great instructor, with awesome life experience as a diplomat for more than 30 years. Will tell you multiple stories from his life. But he is conceeded a little, and prefers to be called Ambassador. The class itself is useless and so is its final assignment. The only good part about the class was guest lectures by other instructors - kind of gives you a feeling who is good or not. For the rest of the time you get stuck listening to boring NGO reps. Kind of a pessimistic feeling about the future career - you are either an ambassador, professor at a university, or a passionate person concerned with saving the lemmings.