Anyone paying attention to national news in the next few weeks will likely see expert opinions straight out of Southern Illinois University.

David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, and History Professor Jonathan Bean will both be making appearances on national television in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, debate coach Todd Graham is analyzing debates for the CNN website.

Bean will appear on a one-hour John Stossel segment titled “Your Instinct is Wrong,” at 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, on the Fox Business Network. The program will also air at 8 p.m. the following Saturday and Sunday.

Bean sat on a four-person panel and drew from his book Race and Liberty in America, published in 2009.

Bean said he argued that racist practices in business end up coming back to haunt businesses. The example he drew from was that during the baseball color barrier, the St. Louis Cardinals would not hire a black player but Bean said when General Manager Branch Rickey moved to the Brooklyn Dodgers and later signed Jackie Robinson, the Dodgers excelled while the Cardinals suffered for a period.

Bean has appeared on NPR, C-Span, Fox and CBS with work also appearing in publications such as U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek and the Washington Times. Bean has also testified before the U.S. Senate on corruption in government contracting and acted as a consultant for the Japanese government.

Yepsen, who covered politics for more than 30 years with Des Moines Register, has become a go-to guy for opinions on the upcoming Iowa Caucus. He appeared on the “Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC on Tuesday, “Hardball with Chris Matthews” on Thursday.

Yepsen said he has about 15 appearances scheduled in a week. Other appearances include C-Span, Fox, CBS and NPR.

He said the appearances give SIU and the Institute national attention and also helps the university’s brand while serving as a recruitment tool.

“That’s really my motivation for doing this,” Yepsen said.

Bean said he encourages professors to get their name out their and be affiliated with a policy institute. Bean is a research fellow at the Independent Institute. He said he is fortunate to be at a university where he gets the flexibility to work on research, publications and branching out to media.

“(SIU) deserves credit and they get credit in the national media every time one of us (makes an appearance),” Bean said.