FACULTY FLASHBACK Bob Jorgensen
1996
After 40 years, Bob Jorgensen retires. He served many roles at Roxbury Latin and brought several new programs to the school throughout his tenure, including woodshop, computer science, and jazz band.
A Master of Many Talents Reinvents Himself Over 40 Years by MIKE POJMAN
Bob Jorgensen met Headmaster Fred Weed one spring day in 1956 for lunch, and for a casual interview regarding an opening on the Roxbury Latin faculty. On that day, Bob had no idea that this meeting would lead to an RL career spanning four decades, under four headmasters, during one of the most consequential periods in the school’s long history. Having just completed two years in the Marine Corps— happily married to his college sweetheart, Bobby, the father of a newborn son, Dean (RL Class of 1974)—Bob was looking to settle into a career as a teacher of woodshop. As fate would have it, Mr. Weed was looking for a visionary who would launch a shop program at Roxbury Latin—long a dream of his. That he might also fill an opening in the math department
would be a bonus. Ever versatile, Bob was willing to tackle that challenge, too. His connection with Mr. Weed and Roxbury Latin was immediate. “My starting salary was to be $4,000,” Bob recalls with a smile, “but I think I talked him into $4,300. Of course, prices were different back then. My rent at the time was $85 per month.” When I sat down with Bob recently, I asked him what kept him going for 40 years. “Perseverance,” he laughed. “Perseverance. But seriously, it was a marvelous career. I enjoyed working with the boys so much. I looked forward to going to work, going to school, every day. I was there just when the Gordon Field House had been completed, so I was able to build the woodshop from scratch [in the space previously used as a makeshift gymnasium]. Everything was brand new, all new equipment. Shop was for Fifthies and Sixies, so I taught a couple of sections of that, and second year Algebra to start. The next year I added first year Algebra and eventually Geometry and Pre-Calculus.”
N e w s l e t t e r o f Th e R o x b u r y L at i n S c h o o l
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