Really odd, tough but fair tells you what you need to know, good explainer

a bit loony, but a great teacher. i learned a lot.

Bit of an oddball, but very good teacher. I learned a lot from him.

He prepares you for his tests, he is fair, and very entertaining

Funny and never boring. hell make fun of u. know ur stuff for the hard tests

fair, as long as you pay attention + do the work he is an awesome teacher

His goal in every class is to make at least one person cry

dont listen to people who say hes mean.they have no sense of humor.great grading

Good teacher if you pay attention...study for the tests and you will be fine

great teacher, all you people who rated him need to get a sense of humor

QUIT YOUR WHINING! Go back to high school if it's too hard. He's funny, knows his stuff, and is fair.

Great teacher. Absolutely loved his class.

He is a great teacher. If you do the work you can get at least a B, but if you don't you're pretty much screwed. He's scary and hilarious, and probably will say something offensive every class. I loved him!

he's a riot, says offensive stuff that will make u laugh or hate him. Will make cracks about your mother and just about everything else. If your a sensitive person don't take this class. Class is tough, but he does his best to help u do good.

He is Hilarious!!! People who don't find him funny take life too seriously. He will work you hard, but you will walk away knowing A LOT! great teacher, but HARD class...he has a reason for everything though.

Class is hard, but micro is hard period. He's hilarious, however some people can't handle his humor cuz it can be offensive and sarcastic. He knows the material and teaches it really well. Tests are fair, if you study. Pop quizes, and some announced.

While he is funny at times, his humor is based on making fun of people. I don't like to ask questions because he'll answer it, but not until he has made fun of me first. If you can get past this, he does teach well and you will learn a lot.

This guy is really funny but it is because he is making fun of other people. Very intimidating in class no one wants to answer questions because he will ridicule you for it. Knows his stuff and will work you hard but is a very good teacher and a Sox fan

he knows his stuff. he can be intimidating in class, but underneath the facsade he wants to help you. crazy humurous guy, likes to joke, but some might be offended. GO TO HIS OFFICE HOURS, he will help you lots, but you have to read.

This class is not as hard as everyone makes it seem. He does make you feel stupid and test are hard and he did throw chalk at the kid behind me BUT i got a B just by paying attention in class.

OK, it's been almost 12 years since I had Russ for political economics but it was the best class I had at JMU. Yeah, he's difficult but econ is SUPPOSED to be difficult, and it was a fascinating class, both in material and structure.

You will either love or hate him, and he frankly won't care. The class is demanding, but you learn a LOT. Very quirky and spontaneous, class is interesting b/c of him, not the material. Grading system is AWESOME

i cant believe people are leaving such bad ratings!! he's SO entertaining, which is totally needed in econ. the subject is hard. get over it, its required. if you're SO easily offended you'll need a thicker skin for business anyway.

Silly Freshmen, his job is not to be your friend! He is very fair when it comes to grading and if you ASK for help he will give it to you. You fail this class and you are a moron who is not trying.

This guy is very entertaining. The material is hard ...dont blame the teacher... just study.

Go into this class knowing that you will work hard but his lectures and interesting. HE makes lots of jokes during class, dont be afraid to laugh. Tell him you hate the yankees and you are a democrat and you will do just fine. Tests are hard but fair.

He is a good prof. a bit crazy. The class is challenging but not impossible. I got a B and didn't put forth much effort. 2 2pg essays. a midterm and a final each with 3 questions. Lets you know what he expects. A lot of reading but not too bad a class, don't need to have econ background to pass.

You sink or swim in his class based on whether you can write coherently (>=300 level) and/or grasp the geometric implications of the the various graphs and charts that he teaches in class but doesn't believe in (<=200 level). He's a wonderful teacher if you don't need to have things spoonfed to you.

Certainly not the easiest subject area, but he is a pretty good teacher. Go to class, pay attention, work hard and study and you'll be fine.

prepare yourself to study like u've never studied before...his tests are impossible! Soo hard, but if you go to class, take good notes, and study for at least 24 solid hours for a test... you should be good to go.

Beside for his flaming liberal views, I think he is a great teacher. He is very interesting and funny, and just makes you think before you ask something stupid

Ah, Russ the Red. Man, he was FUNNY, and the class was a heck of a lot of reading but wow did it feel worthwhile at the end. But seriously, it's worth taking just for the 8 pages of funny quotes you'll get from him by the end. My brain hurt every single day after leaving his class -- but it was an accomplishment.

if you havent taken macro i wouldnt recommend taking him. however, he is hilarious and tends to piss people off easily making class even more eventful/entertaining. this quote explains it all: Question from student: So the product X must suck, right? Like no one wants it. Smith: LIKE YOUR SISTER!!

Political Economy is a tough class to understand and extremely difficult to get an A. I managed to do both because I tried my hardest to "fit" into his teaching style. Try to say something half-intelligent every class. Just one thing can make the difference when he's considering your grade. Most importantly, don?t take his insults seriously.

Political economy was the best class I ever took!

russ smith retired around 2008, but for the record, best teacher of political economy (which is not the same as economics) in the state of VA in the 1990s/aughts. anyone who disagrees has either a political bug up their butt or did badly and didn't understand why.