Faculty Advocate Profile

 

Thomas P. Kling, Ph.D.

I am currently the First Year Seminar Coordinator and an associate professor in the Physics Department. First Year Seminars are writing intensive courses in the core curriculum, and as coordinator, I get to meet and talk with a large number of faculty about teaching first year students and teaching in new, innovative, and engaging ways. I very much value being a college professor at an institution that cares about undergraduate teaching but also allows me flexibility and freedom to pursue other interests. I am particularly interested in maintaining some scholarship in physics and involving undergraduates in that scholarship through the Adrian Tinsley Program.

Prior to coming to Bridgewater State College in 2003, I served as a visiting assistant professor for one year each at Franklin and Marshall College, Connecticut College, and The United States Coast Guard Academy. I completed my PhD in Physics (General Relativity) from the University of Pittsburgh in 2000, and my BS in Physics from Loyola University of New Orleans in 1995. I attended the University of Pittsburgh because as an undergraduate, I was very interested in philosophy, and for a while I considered doing graduate studies at Pitt in Philosophy of Science.

I think the biggest problem for faculty at BSC is striking a balance between their professional lives and their personal lives. (Put another way, how do you know when you are doing enough? How do you keep your dedication to your students and your professional scholarship from becoming your entire existence?) I’ve had two children since arriving at BSC, and I always work with my department to develop a teaching schedule that helps me be at home for my kids at least some of the week. I’ve also tried (not always successfully) to think about how much time I want to work and how much time I want to spend with my kids during the summer period when I do not teach. If you wish for my support and guidance as a faculty advocate please contact me.

Phone:    508.531.2895

Email:    tkling@bridgew.edu  

 

 

Return to FAN Homepage

Last Modified: January 20, 2009