Dr. Hunt retires after 33 years at Kean University
By Rafaela Teixeira | Published by September 26, 2019
Dr. Robert Hunt, who retired this year from Kean after 33 years as a professor, is the kind of scholar who can cite cases and theory verbatim during his lectures.
“He can quote things and rattle off information without having to reference out of the book,” said Geraldine Carreon, a student of Hunt’s who completed her degree in 2013 and is now a law student at Widener University. “He had a way of capturing your attention.”
Known as tough but fair, Hunt taught courses like American Politics, American Political Theory, Classical Political Theory, Intro to Comparative Politics, the U.S. Congress and Municipal Government at Fordham University, St. John’s University and St. Francis College.
“I love teaching and I didn’t know that when I started it,” said Hunt. “Just because you love the subject doesn’t mean you’re going to love teaching it.”
A first-generation college student, Hunt originally wanted to become a lawyer before enrolling at Fordham University for his doctorate degree.
His interest in the political philosophy courses he took pushed Hunt in the direction of teaching political theory.
Before being hired as a full-time professor at Kean, Hunt taught as an adjunct professor in other schools, including his alma maters St. John’s and Fordham University.
“My experience teaching at other schools was running from this school to that school, sometimes on the same day,” said Hunt. “One semester in the mid-80s, I had a class in the morning at St. John’s, then at Fordham, then back at St. John’s in the same day.”
He recalled that his time being an adjunct professor involved teaching subjects that were not necessarily in his area of expertise.
Hunt also noted that he was glad that he was hired full-time at Kean because he was able to teach what he loved and develop courses in political science alongside his colleagues.
He said there’s many things he’ll miss at Kean, including his students and colleagues who have become his friends. But he said he’s had a good run and it’s time to go onto other things.
He noted that his wife often wonders what he’ll do next because she wants him to be active rather than staying still during his retirement.
“I was watching the public access channel one day and I see ‘senior softball 58 years or older,’ so I thought maybe I’d try that,” said Hunt. “But my wife said ‘you better get back into shape before you try that.’”
Hunt hopes to check items off his lenient bucket list alongside his family.
He played the clarinet, “badly,” roughly 35 years ago and might pick it up again. He also hopes to travel to other countries, as well as other states in the U.S. to visit major league baseball parks that he’s never experienced.
“I’ll miss getting students in class and having to experience their appreciation of the values and ideas,” said Hunt. “Whether it’s ideas that were expressed 100 years ago or so, having them think about the importance of the Constitution, that’s what I’ll miss.”