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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Mark Rush, the director entertain students at lectures

In a small production room in ivy-covered Bryan Hall, a moppy-haired man clad in a blue long-sleeved collared shirt and dark jeans appears on eight different screens.

"Oh director," he calls.

Many people would identify the phrase as part of the regular vocabulary of Mark Rush, professor of microeconomics at UF.

The eight on-screen clones of Rush stand in front of a chalky blackboard, speaking excitedly about the "Midterm party" he is throwing.

He announces to his students that along with pencils, they should B.Y.O.B. - Bring your own brain.

Chuckles emerge from the lecture hall with fewer than 100 people in the audience.

But Rush's lectures also reach nearly 2,000 students via the Internet.

Since he started teaching at UF in 1982, Rush has become widely recognized for his humorous lectures and quips with "the director," who oversees the filming of Rush's class.

Rush even has a Facebook group dedicated to him - the "Dr. Mark Rush is a God" group.

He said it is difficult to walk around campus without being recognized and stopped.

Rush described his teaching philosophy as simple: a blend of lectures and laughs.

Because his class is largely based on students watching the Web lectures on their own time, he uses moments of comedic relief to keep them focused.

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"There is not the same degree of attachment," he said, comparing online courses with those only in the classroom. "If I make my lectures more entertaining, they are more inclined to watch."

Much of the entertainment comes from the daily dueling between Rush and Anthony Bouton, better known as the director.

Bouton never shows his face on camera, but this doesn't stop him from firing insults from his studio in the back.

Though the director often serves as the scapegoat for Rush's jokes, the two have worked together for nearly a decade, and this comedic routine is just part of the show.

"His humor helps the students. It relaxes them and refocuses their attention. He just knows how to use the media to do it," Bouton said of Rush.

Rush has had a lot of time to perfect his comedy routine in his 30 years of teaching.

Originally from California, he got his bachelor's degree at California State University at Hayward.

Before graduating, Rush, then a chemistry major, dropped out to become an eligibility worker, which was when he discovered the applicability of economics.

"I realized economics wasn't just this theory. It had a lot of real-world relevance," he said.

Rush later applied to the University of Rochester, where he earned a doctorate degree in economics.

He taught at the University of Pittsburgh for three years before transferring to UF. He has lived in Florida happily since then with his college sweetheart, Susan, and their three children.

Over the past year, Rush renewed his dedication to healthy living and lost 50 pounds after grappling with his weight since he was a child.

He cut down on many of his regular foods and switched from drinking his favorite soda, Mountain Dew, to Diet Mountain Dew.

"I was very diligent," he said. "It does suck if the high point of your day that you reach is 10 minutes after you wake up when you step on the scale to see if you lost weight."

Rush is now not only recognized for his humor, but for his 50-pound weight loss, achieved without an extreme exercise routine.

"I'd rather do other stuff," he said, "like dream up ways to torture students. That's time well spent."

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