Written by: Sindhu Palaniappan
As I walked into his office on Thursday morning, Professor David Carhart was having a discussion with two students about Bentley being changed from a college to a university.
One student stayed for math help, and I had the pleasure of witnessing Carhart’s eyes light up when the student experienced a moment of clarity regarding a graphing problem. Needless to say, he’s quite the educator.
Why teaching?
“I really enjoy the learning process – learning for learning’s sake,” Carhart said with a smile. When he became a teaching assistant, he discovered his love for the profession, and paired with the good feedback he received, his calling seemed clear. He also took a moment to gush about how flexible his hours are. He has to put in a certain amount of work, but he loves that he can choose when to do it. This always allowed him to “be home in time for the school bus,” as he quaintly put it. “Why leave?” I love being a student all my life,” he concluded. Otherwise, he would have been an actuary. Wise decision.
Why Bentley?
As an undergraduate student of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a graduate student of George Washington University, Carhart is used to big cities. He initially flew to Massachusetts to explore opportunities of teaching at Suffolk, but hesitated when he saw its big city location. A friend suggested that he try Bentley, to which he responded, “What’s that? An accounting school?”
In January 1981, Carhart turned down five other offers and began his career here because he was genuinely “impressed with the people, facilities, and overall lifestyle.”
Almost thirty years later, he looks back and laughs in agreement with his choice. “You’ll notice one thing,” he said. “The Bentley faculty members are all getting older because they all love it here, and want to stay,” he finished.
Tell us about your family.
Carhart is married with one daughter, Jennifer. She was a chemistry major at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and is now married. He told me about her as he buzzed around his office grabbing various photos of her, both past and present.
Back to teaching; worst part?
“Being evaluative, instead of developmental,” said Carhart. With firm resolution, he expanded upon this, saying that he would like to be purely developmental by encouraging students as opposed to labeling them with grades and scores.
Best part of teaching?
“The interaction with the students and the faculty alike,” Carhart said. He makes it clear that being a professor is like no other career in the world because the day-to-day interaction with the students and the faculty is incomparable.
Finally, will you ever tire of teaching?
“No, the motor runs on fourth gear!” Carhart responded enthusiastically. He never expects to stop because “teaching is too much fun.” He makes it clear that “Bentley really is a good place,” and that he never wants to leave.
When I left his office, the clock read 11:15 a.m., the end of his office hours. As I walked out, two students walked in with textbooks, and Carhart welcomed them into his office, not phased by the time and ready for a few more lessons.
TV shows go over well with Bentley, and I expect it to be pretty full,” said Penley.
The 40-year-old Friedlander has been pursuing standup for 18-years, and according to Punchline Magazine, he “effectively works the crowd with his laugh-out-loud-worthy retorts.”
According to his biography, Friedlander is “a great athlete, gets tons of chicks & is a role model to children. And he’s better than you at everything.”
CAB will also be promoting this comedy show under the guidelines of the new Green Initiative that the organization is taking up.
“We won’t actually be using professional posters for this event,” said Penley. “We will be using Facebook, Twitter and also A-Frame boards around campus,“ he finished.
Aside from his work in front of the camera, Friedlander is recognized by his witty, homemade trucker hats. He makes up all the sayings on the hats, which are sold on his website and include phrases like, “Champion of the World,” “World Runner-Up,” and “Regional Semifinalist.”
In addition to hats on his website, Friedlander sells a spaceship for $10,000,000 that will, “make you cool and popular,” as well as a Judah-Bot, “a full life-size robot of Judah… Great for lying around the house and doing nothing” for $1,000,000. Friedlander also sells a nude picture of himself for $500; however, the website states, “SOLD OUT! Sorry ladies.”
During the interview, Penley spent some time looking around Judah’s website and laughed-out-loud when he saw some of the goods he was selling.
“I would imagine that anything he does in his life has some humor in it,” said Penley.
Friedlander is the second NBC comedy writer to come to Bentley in the last three comedy shows.
Past shows have included Patton Oswalt in the fall of 2009, B.J. Novak, a writer for NBC’s The Office, in the spring of 2009, and Stephen Lynch in the fall of 2008.
The show will be held in Koumantzelis Auditorium on Thursday, February 18. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show will start at 7:30 p.m.
Admission is free with a Bentley ID and five dollars without a Bentley ID.
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