Somewhat overshadowed by Arnie's upcoming tell-all "60-Minutes" appearance and think tank announcement, was the news that he's now the Governor Downey Professor of State and Global Policy at USC.
Watch out all you 'girlie men' of Southern 'Caleefornia,' Professor Schwarzenegger is expected to take on an active role in teaching at the school--undoubtedly, lending a new definition to his title as 'The 'Terminator.'
This past summer, the 38th Governor of California and former Mr. Universe established the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy at the school with a $20 million commitment from himself and others. In his new role as think tank guru and policy wonk, the "Kindergarten Cop" star hopes to direct his institute towards tackling large-scale global issues such as hunger, health care, and climate change. In addition to providing instruction at the school, the 'Governator' will also serve as the chairman of the institute's board of advisers.
"The Expendables" actor will need to find a way to balance both his collegiate commitments and Hollywood life. Arnie's back at the box office in a big way, with a pair of movies in post-production. One of them, "The Tomb," co-stars his action-film buddy Sylvester Stallone. The other one, "The Last Stand," is slated for a January release and marks the actor's first leading role since 2003's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." He's also scheduled to join David Ayer's latest action thriller, "Breacher."
Peter Weller
Schwarzenegger isn't the only 80's action star to get behind a podium in a lecture hall. In between stints on hit TV shows like "24" and "Dexter," 'Robocop' earned his Master's degree in Italian Renaissance art history. The actor developed a course titled "Hollywood and the Roman Empire" for Syracuse University and frequently conducts field trips for the school in Florence, Italy. The "Naked Lunch" actor is currently finishing a Ph.D. at UCLA in the history of fifteenth-century Venetian art.
John Cleese
The "Monty Python's Flying Circus" co-creator became a popular fixture at Cornell University for more than a decade. From 1999 to 2006 he served as the Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large for the school--a stretch two years longer than normal. Afterwards the school just couldn't let him go, and awarded him a three-year stint as Provost's Visiting Professor. While on campus, the funnyman became known for presenting eclectic rounds of public talks on topics ranging from human development and animal welfare to the works of W. Somerset Maugham. He also administered public readings and screenings of Python works, taught a class in comedy, and delivered a sermon at the school chapel on his experience with religion.
In 1992, the Department of African and African-American Studies chair at Harvard University, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., invited the "Do the Right Thing" director to teach a class at the school as a visiting professor. The course focused on contemporary African-American cinema, making the "Malcom X," "School Daze," and "Mo' Better Blues" writer and director an ideal choice for the Ivy League school.
Kevin Spacey
Universities in the U.S. are not the only education institutions to add celebrities to their faculty rosters. In 2008, the University of Oxford invited the "Usual Suspects" star to succeed Patrick Stewart as the school's Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre. The post has also been held by the likes Sir Ian McKellen, Lord Richard Attenborough, Stephen Daldry, and Sir Tim Rice.
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