Gilbert Congdon is an inspiring and memorable professor who is currently in his 45th year of teaching mathematics. He is a favorite professor among students and takes the time to catch up even after they are no longer in his class. If you need to take a math class, I would not just suggest but urge you to take Professor Congdon’s class!
Her Campus (HC): Tell us about some places you have previously worked?
Gilbert Congdon (GC): I started teaching and coaching full-time in the fall of 1968 in Reading Memorial HS, Reading, MA. I simply walked into the school in the spring of 1968 and asked if there were any fall openings in the math department and the athletic department. Typical of my luck in getting jobs there were openings in both departments and I was hired to teach five math classes a day and coach the junior varsity basketball and varsity baseball teams. Eight years later, my wife and I decided to move to Bethlehem, NH to teach, coach and have a vegetable farm. Six years later I was hired as athletic director of Reading Memorial so back to Reading we moved! Three years later I decided to get back to the classroom and was hired to teach in Manchester-By-The-Sea where I spent sixteen years until my retirement in 2002.
HC: How did you get into teaching and how did you begin teaching at Bentley?
GC: One month into retirement I noticed an ad for a part time math instructor at Bentley College. Since the Math Department Chairperson, Professor Lynn Durkin, turned out to be a woman I had taught with at Reading in the mid 1970’s I gave her a call and she encouraged me to take the position. This was my best move of my career. Now I am in my 45th year of teaching and don’t see the end in sight.
HC: What has been your most memorable experience at Bentley?
GC: My most memorable classroom experience was the first time I taught how to derive the first derivative and I messed up the process and got all screwed up. My most overall positive experience was when I was introduced to the graduating class and their families as the Adamian Adjunct Professor of the year in 2007. I was absolutely floored when I was told about the award as I was teaching simply to enjoy my students and relive my college days at Colby College in the 1960’s.
HC: You’re known to have a great voice! How did you get into singing the National Anthem? (You can hear Professor Congdon perform at some Bentley Football games!)
GC: While teaching in a small high school in Bethlehem, NH, I noticed that there weren’t many males willing to sing in the school’s musical production. Since I had sung in a barber shop group in high school I knew I could carry a tune and volunteered my services to the school production of Sesame Street. It was fun being green as Kermit and my career took off. Daddy Warbucks followed the next year. I’ve always enjoyed being more than a classroom performer and asked Cindy Scott if I could give the National Anthem a shot for football and basketball games. It’s fun, but when my wife and I attend various athletic events she likes to point out how much better the anthem singers are.
HC: What advice do you have for students?
GC: I’m a firm believer in getting to know my students names and hometowns. It’s always nice to be able to chat with a student about happenings in their hometown and how world events occur close to them. My advice to our students is to remember why they are here at Bentley and to keep learning and working toward a successful career. Along the way I encourage them to expand their horizons by adding activities to their classroom studies and classes of interest outside their major. As I always try to add a little humor to my teaching I encourage students to see the fun in learning and to recognize and appreciate the differences in their backgrounds.