Faculty Spotlight: Paul Weizer
Welcome to the Library’s Spotlight on Fitchburg Faculty Scholarship! Learn more about what our faculty are researching by reading below and also visit the main level of the library to see our display of their work. You can learn more by viewing this list of books published by other Fitchburg State faculty.
Paul I. Weizer, Ph.D., has been a professor at Fitchburg State University since 1998. He teaches courses on political science, particularly American government and public law. During his time at FSU, Paul has published a number of books and peer reviewed articles based upon the course material he teaches. His first book, The Supreme Court and Sexual Harassment: Preserving Free Speech While Preventing Harassment (2000) explored the intersection of laws protecting free speech and those prohibiting harassment. In 2002, he published his book Sexual Harassment: Cases, Case Studies, and Commentary, which discusses in detail the complexities and evolution of sexual harassment laws. Just last year, Paul published the latest version of his book How to Please the Court: A Moot Court Handbook. This book is used as a resource for students and faculty engaged in collegiate moot court competitions throughout the United States and Canada. This text is the only one of its kind on the market, focusing on helping undergraduate students try their hand at appellate advocacy by helping students understand key skills needed in appellate advocacy such as legal research, critical thinking, oral advocacy, and impromptu speaking. The book is designed to prepare students for competition by taking them step by step through the work needed before a tournament and what to expect at a tournament.
Paul served as the president of the American Moot Court Association for four years and has been a member of the executive board for twenty years. In this role, he has been involved in writing the annual case problem, developing the organizations procedures and rules, overseeing a regional tournament (hosted at FSU) and the responsibility for the scoring system used at all regional and national tournaments.
Paul lives in Walpole, MA with his wife. His personal interests include horseracing, sports, and reading. Paul is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he grew up and later went on to attend Temple University where he earned all his degrees, and discovered his passion for both political science and teaching.