Robert Gordon, Ph.D.

What is your advising philosophy? I'm a firm believer in the value of a liberal arts education. I believe that students can do amazing things and become amazing people and that a liberal arts education can play a critical role in that development. I try to meet students where they are at and help them figure out where they want to go and how to get there.

What was your path to Newnan? As I was nearing completion of my Ph.D. I started looking around for a job that would allow me to work with students in a more impactful way than I was able to achieve in the classroom. I had a colleague from graduate school who started working in the Advising Center a year before I did, and he kept telling me what a great job it was. That was in 1998, and I've been here ever since.

What do you enjoy about working in Newnan? I really enjoy both the students I work with and my colleagues. U-M students are amazingly talented and highly motivated. It is a pleasure to be able to help them figure out how to maximize their time at the University and to explore things they might not have otherwise gotten involved in. My colleagues in the Advising Center have been amazing to work with. They are smart, hardworking, dedicated to students and the College, and some of the friendliest people I know.

Class you loved and why? History of the Vietnam War. The course took on a complex and politically contentious period of American history.

Interests and hobbies: Baseball - Minor League Baseball Analyst for Baseball HQ since 2003