Professor Malcolm Rickard leaves Embry-Riddle
Carrie Anderson
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Diversions
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Dr. Rickard, unlike the other teachers in the physics department, is not on the tenure track. Instead, he is on a yearly contract. The school will simply not renew his contract next year.
Rickard has greatly enjoyed his time teaching here. All of the faculty members have been very welcoming to him, and most of the students have been just as friendly.
In the classroom, Rickard has gotten a few mixed reviews about his teaching. He has had some students claim he is the best teacher ever, while others have complained that he is not helpful at all. The general consensus, however, is that he is improving. That is all any teacher can really ask from his or her students.
Outside of the classroom, Rickard has been very active in student clubs and organizations. He is faculty advisor for the Society of Physics Students and the Ultimate Frisbee Club, both of which he enjoys participating in actively. He joins the juggling club meetings on a regular basis. He also occasionally joins the Swing Dancing Club for their lessons and events. He loves each of these activities, and he is going to miss them all when he leaves.
Rickard enjoys riding his bicycle to work every morning, as well. "Some of my colleagues think I'm nuts," he says, but he enjoys riding by Willow Lake in the morning. "It's very pretty," he adds, "I like to see all the ducks." He also owns and rides a motorcycle, and he was going to be advisor for the Motorcycle Club. This did not happen because of the accident that killed a student last year, which Rickard said "was one of the saddest times" he has had here.
Another project Rickard was working on here was the restructuring of the PS 103 and 104 labs. He wrote up four lab templates to be used next fall. He wishes there was more he could do to help, but the labs seem to be settling down fairly well now.
Rickard first started teaching while he was in Benin, West Africa with the Peace Corps. He worked there from 1995 to 1997 and enjoyed the experience immensely. He is hoping to continue teaching for many more years. His plan once he leaves here is to teach at a community college, and he already has a few promising interviews lined up.
Rickard is going to miss his experiences here, and many of his best students will miss him, too, including Erik Lentz. "Be sure to mention he's bald," Lentz says. Rickard laughs in response and claims, "I'm not bald. I'm taller than my hair." But what Rickard will remember most about his time here is that "out of every class, there's at least one student who makes a point of approaching me and telling me that they enjoyed and got a lot out of the class."
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