Raj Goyle, a Democratic member of the Kansas House of Representatives, has recently announced that he is a candidate for the U.S. Congress seat for the fourth district of Kansas. That’s the seat being vacated by Todd Tiahrt.
His website, in announcing his candidacy, states: “In addition to his legislative duties, Goyle serves as a lecturer at Wichita State University.”
Past versions of his campaign website have him mentioning “… the same values that guide me every day in my career as a lecturer at Wichita State University, attorney, and active member of the Wichita community.” (emphasis added)
While perhaps satisfying the technical description of a lecturer at Wichita State University, his career as that is spotty. According to records received from WSU, Goyle was a lecturer teaching a single class in the university’s honors program during the Fall 2006 semester. According to the same records, he hasn’t worked at WSU since. He’s scheduled to teach a class in the Fall 2009 semester, again a single class in the honors program.
His work schedule for the semester he was employed by WSU was light. The Fall 2006 class, titled “Politics/Public Policy” met from 1:00 to 2:45 on Wednesdays. The class scheduled for Fall 2009 is titled “White House” and will meet from 1:00 to 3:00, again only on Wednesdays.
Here’s another quote from Goyle’s campaign website: “In teaching at Wichita State I am helping to educate and shape our city’s youth while maintaining a deep commitment to public service and civic involvement.”
The clear intent of these statements is to represent Goyle as someone actively and continuously employed by the university. Someone with a career, in Goyle’s own words. An examination of his record, however, leads to a different conclusion.