Faculty Focus — Marlene Lindemann, political science instructor

Faculty Focus — Marlene Lindemann, political science instructor

A new instructor will be teaching at Columbia College–Lake County this August. If you are thinking about taking POSC 340 Judicial Process in the August Session, take a few minutes to learn more about Marlene Lindemann:


1)Where are you from (original hometown)?
I was born in Middlebury, Vt. and raised in the beautiful Green Mountains. My family continues to spend the month of July on a mountain lake in central Vermont where the nearest store is 28 miles away!

2)Tell us about your family.
I am married to a great guy, John, who is an emergency physician. We have four children; Signe (11), Audrey (10), Kirsten (9) and Trey (7).

3)What degrees do you hold, and where did you earn them?
I hold an associate degree in business management from Fisher College in Boston, a bachelor’s degree in political science from Marymount Manhattan College in New York and a juris doctor from St. John’s University School of Law in New York.

4)Tell us about your teaching experience and work history.
My 25 year professional career has involved being an attorney, author, business coach and university professor. Recently, I created and developed a workshop series titled, “The Art & Science of Career Development: Career Transitions,” and another workshop series called “The Art & Science of Career Development: Starting a Business in Illinois.” Both workshops are being taught at the adult continuing education level. Currently, I teach fundamentals of business law at Robert Morris University.

5)What do you most enjoy about your field?
Law provides the framework within which a successful society can flourish. It is a living, breathing, ever-changing beast that provides endless challenges to those individuals brave enough to saddle up.

6)Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I am an avid snowboarder. Having grown up in Vermont, all of my childhood winters were spent skiing. About 10 years ago, I discovered the terror and joy of snowboarding and have never looked back (or should I say down)!

7)What advice do you have for students taking your class this August?
Be excited! We have scheduled some exciting guest speakers to address such fascinating issues as cybercrime, the criminal justice system, anti-terrorism task forces and there is more to come. And, be ready to debate some very controversial legal issues such as enemy combatants’ rights, physician-assisted suicide, the juvenile death penalty and more. I want you to enjoy this class and to learn how the judicial process shapes our everyday lives. The most beautiful thing about law is that there is never any right or wrong answer.