Rick Santorum, a former United States senator from Pennsylvania, recalls the frustration he felt three decades ago as a "lone voice" in Penn State classrooms dominated by liberal ideologies.

"Professors in all of my political science courses were absolutely left-wingers," Santorum said on his cell phone between two meetings in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. "In some of my other classes, the positions that I espoused actually hurt me at grading time and that was made very clear to me."

Despite the setbacks, Santorum, 49, graduated from Penn State with a degree in political science in 1980. Over the next two decades, he immersed himself in Pennsylvania politics, eventually ascending to the third-ranking Republican position in the U.S. Senate.

But Santorum said he would not soon forget his lower-profile political pursuits at Penn State, which first aroused his aspirations of serving public office.

At a time when the Watergate scandal had disgraced Republicans and President Ronald Reagan had not yet restored the party name, Santorum said he wanted to breathe new life into the conservative campus movement.

"Conservatism wasn't even a viable philosophy at that point; its not like today when there is a battle of ideas," Santorum said. "There was a perception that liberalism was the future and conservatism had already had its day."

He re-established the Penn State College Republicans chapter in 1977, which had been defunct since Watergate, in hopes of advancing the party's values of small government, low taxes and self-reliance.

He said that the revival sparked a more balanced campus dialogue.

Now, 30 years later, Santorum will return to his alma mater with the intention of promoting conservative values on political issues with more imminent consequences.

He will speak at 8 p.m. tomorrow in 119 Osmond as part of "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week," which promises to be the "biggest conservative campus protest ever."

The event aims to expose the danger radical Islam poses to the West at 200 university and college campuses and has been met with protest by the Penn State Muslim Student Association (MSA).

MSA released a statement Wednesday announcing a "Peace Not Prejudice" seminar series to counter the movement and condemning David Horowitz, the conservative activist organizing the event, for reinforcing unfair stereotypes.

Santorum said he sees no merit in this claim.

"[Islamic terrorists] see themselves as holy men who are on a mission to fulfill what they see as a mission of faith," Santorum said. "If you don't share that view, then I don't think you have to worry about differentiating yourself."

And with regard to the MSA stance that the movement promotes hatred and division, Santorum said their anger is misdirected.

He said that being outspoken about radical Islam and encouraging discussion about what it means should not offend moderate Muslims.

"In fact, what should offend Muslims is people who take their faith and use it for political purposes to attack innocent people," he said.

Since losing reelection in 2006, Santorum has been working in Washington, D.C., for the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), a conservative think tank that promotes the application of family and religious values to public policy.

Within this group, Santorum said he established a sector dedicated to influencing officials on national defense, which he deems the most critical issue America faces.

In line with his work at EPPC and his view that combating radical Islam is key to ensuring U.S. security, Santorum has spoken at other universities and jumped at the chance when Horowitz approached him to speak at Penn State.

"It's not necessarily popular," he said.

"It didn't make me popular during my last race, and I'm sure it won't make me popular on most college campuses where I go around and talk about it. But someone's got to confront these issues."

Santorum said he doesn't want to preach, but hopes to debate with students in a "non-Ann Coulterish" way, referring to the political pundit often accused of indoctrinating her conservative beliefs.

Santorum continues to practice law and he also regularly appears on FOX News.

And although it's been rumored around the blogosphere that Santorum is considering running for governor, he refuted all such speculation.

"Obviously, none of those bloggers are talking to me," he said.