In his first post-election career move, Vice President Al Gore '69 will teach at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism this semester.

Gore will serve as a visiting professor, teaching a non-credit course entitled "Covering National Affairs in the Information Age" with Columbia professors Richard Wald and Craig Wolff. He is expected to lecture six to eight times over the course of the spring semester, and may continue teaching through the fall.

Before his political career, Gore worked as a reporter for The Tennessean, a daily newspaper in Nashville. But the associate dean for academic affairs at Columbia's school of journalism said Gore's experience with public policy would be his most valuable asset.

"This is a great opportunity for students, because he's spent time in the machinery of government and policy-making," said David A. Klatell. "He's actually worked in it and knows what actors are behind the scenes affecting policy."

Klatell said Gore's insights into the policy world will help train journalism students on how to cover national affairs effectively.

"Learning how he sees issues, and knowing who they should be talking to, is really a benefit to young journalists," Klatell said.

While Gore's future political plans are still unclear, Klatell speculated that Gore's lifetime interest in journalism brought him out of the government and policy world.

"He has a real interest in journalism and how issues are covered," Klatell said. "If he wanted to go somewhere that's on the front end of policy, he could have gone to the K-School [the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard]."