Joseph DiSarro

Joseph DiSarro is an American professor and chair in the Department of Political Science at Washington & Jefferson College.[1] In addition to his teaching duties, DiSarro is chair of the Legal Profession Committee[2] and is the Pre-Law Advisor and Director of the college's Pre-Law Program.[3] He has been pre-law advisor Washington & Jefferson College since 1978, guiding approximately 1,117 students to law school as of 2012.[4] Ken Gormley, Dean of Duquesne University School of Law described DiSarro as "one of the most highly respected pre-law advisors in Pennsylvania."[4]

He also serves as faculty advisor for the Pre-Legal Society and Presidents for Liberty student organizations.[5] Several of his former students at Washington & Jefferson College have been served in the United States Congress, including Tom Rooney[6] (FL-16) and Melissa Hart (PA-4).[7]

DiSarro is originally from Westfield, New Jersey.[8] He earned a B.A. from John J. Pershing College,[9] an M.A. from Drew University in 1972,[10] and a Ph.D. from West Virginia University in 1979.[11] Politically, he describes himself as libertarian.[7]

He has appeared on C-SPAN providing political analysis on 2010 Pennsylvania elections[12] and on News Hour with Jim Lehrer analyzing the 2000 Presidential election in Pennsylvania.[13] The subjects of his commentary has ranged from the national implications of the 2010 special election after the death John Murtha,[14] the ability of Pennsylvania State Representative Bill DeWeese to run for re-election while under indictment,[15] the politics of hydraulic fracturing,[16] and the increasing clout of Western Pennsylvania in the Pennsylvania State Capitol following the 2010 elections[17] and the rising influence of the Tea Party movement during the 2010 elections.[18] His political analysis on the politics of Pennsylvania has been featured in publications as diverse as CNN,[19] The Christian Science Monitor,[20] The New York Times,[21] and the English newspaper The Guardian.[22]