Penn State alumnus and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum may be in the running for the next race to the White House in 2012.

Santorum, who graduated with a degree in political science and later received a doctorate from the Dickinson School of Law, said during a Republican National Committee conference call Tuesday he was thinking about running for president, according to media reports.

Alex Smith, president of the College Republicans, was pleased to hear Santorum could be in the mix for the Republican ticket.

"I don't know what his chances are, but I wish him luck," Smith (senior-finance) said. "He's one of the founders of the College Republicans at Penn State."

Although Santorum has a lot of name recognition, Smith said he wouldn't consider him a front runner with people like Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin in the mix -- but he's definitely somewhere in the middle of the pack.

The former Penn State College Republican's conservative background would be an advantage in gaining him more supporters, especially with how things are going for the Obama administration, Smith said.

"A lot of people are displeased with the choices Obama's been making," he said.

Santorum visited his alma mater in 2007, stirring up controversy with his "Islamo-Facism" speech. Some students at the speech said Santorum aimed to scrutinize Muslims and "spew hatred and intolerance."

But some people see Santorum's goals as protecting the country's well-being. U.S. Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Centre, said he liked that Santorum focused on international threats, AIDS relief in Africa and environmental issues in Pennsylvania while he held his Senate seat from 1994 to 2007.

"I was impressed with his service on different issues," Thompson said.

Santorum was defeated by Bob Casey, D-Pa., in the 2006 Senate race. Thompson said he wasn't aware of Santorum's possible run for the White House until Wednesday, but he's seen Santorum speak during the past few months and has been happy with what he's seen.

Penn State political science professor Michael Berkman said although Santorum would be popular among social conservatives in the Republican party, there's a big difference in talking about a political campaign and actually going through with it.

"All senators at one point think about running for president," Berkman said. "But until he puts a committee together, there's not much to it."