Former U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert is sharing his expertise on public policy with student journalists interested in learning how news organizations cover the federal government.

Boehlert is teaching a class this semester on the workings of Congress, the executive branch and advocacy groups at Boston University's Washington (D.C.) Journalism Center.

The former 24th Congressional District representative retired in December 2006 and moved to Washington to become a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

He was first elected as a central New York representative on 1982 and began serving constituents in Cayuga County in 2003 after new district lines took effect.

As a member of the Boston University faculty, Boehlert is teaching in a program for students spending a semester working in the Washington bureaus of national news organization, reporting on government for New England news outlets.

“Our students are extremely lucky to have the chance to benefit from his experience and many years in Congress as well as his extensive contacts in Washington,” said Linda Killian, who directs BU's Washington Center, in a news release.

“When I decided to retire I had no intention of buying a rocking chair,” Boehlert, 70, said in a news release. “I still wanted to be engaged in a meaningful way and I can't think of a better way to do that than by working with young people and trying to develop in them an appreciation for our system of government.”