For the past two weeks, former Sen. Bill Frist '74 (R-Tenn.) has kept to his typical schedule: trips to Egypt, Spain and Morocco, speeches in Tennessee and Michigan, two lectures at Princeton and meetings with seven graduate and undergraduate students.
Frist, a cardiothoracic surgeon who served as Senate Majority Leader from 2003 to 2007, is spending the year as a visiting professor at the Wilson School.
This semester, he is co-teaching a graduate-level seminar on the political economy of health systems with economics and Wilson School professor Uwe Reinhardt. Next semester he will teach an undergraduate-level seminar, also on health policy.
Frist said in an interview that his 18-hours-per-day, seven-days-per-week work life is "challenging," but that he is energized by "the quality and inquisitiveness of the students [and] their commitment to public service."
His students said they are equally energized by the unique perspective Frist brings to the seminar. "It's been nice to get an inside scoop on some of the legislation we've talked about in class," Jessica Hembree GS said.
Wednesday's seminar illustrated the way in which Capitol Hill experience informs Frist's teaching.
Reinhardt presented an economic analysis of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, criticizing certain aspects of the legislation, such as the "doughnut hole" in coverage and the program's complexity.
Frist, who worked with AARP to push Medicare reform to the top of the Senate's agenda, responded to Reinhardt's criticisms by explaining the political considerations that went into crafting the policy.
Reinhardt admitted that the policy has been a success, despite early concerns from economists, and followed up with a bit of self-deprecating humor.
"An economist is like a man who knows 1,000 ways to make love but doesn't know any women," he said. "I plead guilty to this."
Earlier in the class, Frist got in his own jab at Reinhardt's profession.
"We listened to the economists," he said during a discussion of insurance deductibles. "They're pretty smart, but they don't have any common sense."
Mariana Plazas-Mayorca GS said she valued that kind of exchange between Frist and Reinhardt. "It's interesting to see the balance between the economist and the physician-policymaker," she said. "They are always going back and forth."
Plazas-Mayorca, along with the other graduate students in the class, is taking the seminar to fulfill a requirement for the Wilson School certificate in health and health policy.
"I knew I had to take [the seminar] before I found out that Frist was going to be a co-teacher," she said. "But I was like, 'Oh cool!' when I found out."
While many faculty members have weighed in publicly on policy issues, few have as prominent a profile as Frist. Along with his service as Senate Majority Leader, he also considered seeking the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nomination before announcing in 2006 that he would not make a run for the White House.
Frist said he made that decision because "the timing for Republicans is not good," adding that "my closeness to President Bush would have made it very difficult."
But despite Frist's partisan affiliation, Plazas-Mayorca said he doesn't necessarily come off as conservative in class.
"I was surprised he was a Republican, based on his health policies," she said.
Frist said he takes an "egalitarian" view on such issues. With Medicare reform, he worked to help the elderly cope with rising prescription drug costs.
"The number-one domestic issue is the cost and coverage [of healthcare]," he said. "Every family, every business, every state is affected. This must be addressed within the next five years."
The relationship between Frist and Reinhardt extends back to Frist's time as an undergraduate, when he had Reinhardt as a professor for accounting and microfinance.
"We've been longstanding friends," Frist said.
Their contact has continued throughout Frist's career. Reinhardt once shadowed Frist on an organ transplant operation to learn about the issue firsthand, and the two have "worked together on policy issues in Washington D.C.," Frist explained.
In an interview with The Daily Princetonian earlier this year, Reinhardt also stressed their close relationship, saying the two "have been friends for a long time, and we respect one another, even where we disagree."
Frist described his current stint at Princeton as "a homecoming of sorts," adding that "while I have stayed close to the University through my roles as a trustee and [as] a father, I haven't been this meshed with undergraduates since I was a student here."
Frist's son Harrison graduated in 2006. His son Bryan is a sophomore.
As an undergraduate, Frist was a Wilson School major, Cottage Club member and president of the Princeton Flying Club.
After his retirement from the Senate, Frist said, he weighed several options, but chose to return to Princeton because he was drawn to the Wilson School's mission.
"I was a citizen-legislator," he said. "I pledged to serve 12 years. That means, after service, going back to normal life and inspiring others to go into public service. There's no better group to work with than young people, and there's no better place in the world to do that than here at Princeton."
Aside from his role as a professor, Frist said he enjoys "interacting with undergraduates both formally and informally out of the classroom." So far, he has spoken with several student groups, including the pre-health student group and the Bioethics Forum. He also interacts with students more informally, meeting with them at campus locations including Frist Campus Center.
The center was one project that Frist pushed for during his 14 years as a University trustee. Frist and his family donated $25 million to help fund the project.
Asked whether he finds it odd to teach near a building that bears his name, he said, "I'm not sure why, but it's not odd. The campus center is the product of many people."
The center is, however, grist for classroom jokes connected to the seminar's topic of health policy.
"There's some jest about the healthfulness of food at Frist Campus Center," Hembree said.
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