Professor Robert Pugh will be retiring from Mercer at the end of this year after 46 years of service in the Health and Physical Education department.
Since his start, Pugh has initiated mandatory Health and Wellness courses as the coordinator of the PE program led the men’s basketball team to two national championships and started Mercer’s summer sports camp program in 1973. He has also served as Mercer’s president of the faculty union and won countless awards in the fields of education and athletics including the 2016 Distinguished Teacher of the Year award, the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association Sports Award, and the Bob Kanaby Service Award. He also earned the Central Jersey Basketball Officials 40 years of service award and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Supervisor’s award for his service in NJ basketball.
In honor of his departure, the Mercer Foundation is conducting a fundraiser to renovate the fitness center and rename it after Pugh. Their goal is to raise $10,000.
Pugh told The VOICE that what he will miss most is “the people. You know we look at Mercer like a family. We all work together and have bonded in a familial way. So [I will miss] that family atmosphere, but I’ll also miss teaching. Teaching is what I was born to do.”
Dean of Health Sciences Robert Schreyer told The VOICE “In the 2 years that I have known Bob, I have observed him to be a kind and generous individual. His willingness to support students has been inspiring, but he does not stop there. Bob is also a strong supporter of the adjuncts in his courses and the faculty throughout the college.”
Pugh grew up, as he says, “a country boy” from West Virginia. He attended West Virginia State University for his Bachelor’s degree. He was the first in his family to go to college. While there he enrolled in the Reserve Officers’ Training Core program. Serving in the Army and eventually attending flight school, Professor Pugh was stationed at Fort Dix in Burlington County and from there he got his Masters degree at TCNJ.
Professor Pugh says he fell into the field of physical education by accident. “I didn’t have much guidance or advice from family because they didn’t know any more than I did, so I picked physical education because I was an athlete. I played football and basketball…[I] found out later that I really did like it.”
While he played basketball as a point guard for only one year at West Virginia State, he has maintained his interest in the sport as a referee for Division I basketball for 25 years after graduating from college and is now an official for the NJ Athletic Conference assigning referees to games.
“You know back then the scholarships weren’t as free-flowing, so I had to work. I scrubbed dishes and floors…The traveling part [while refereeing] was a little difficult, but I never missed school. I made sure I was here and kept up with my main responsibilities. But I loved meeting people and that pressure-packed environment.” Pugh says.
Professor of Exercise Science and fellow coordinator of Health and Physical Education, John Kalinowski, says of his mentor, “Professor Pugh has dedicated his tenure at Mercer to maximizing opportunities, learning and the promotion of healthy lifestyle behaviors for students and faculty alike. He is passionate about his own health and fitness, as well as that of others and does not hesitate to promote this outside of the classroom.”
Having been at Mercer since 1972, Professor Pugh says he has seen Mercer evolve in many ways. The biggest changes have come in the form of technology. He told The VOICE that when he started, “students were still operating typewriters.”
Professor Pugh is retiring with his wife, Brenda. They have three daughters together which, he says are what he and his wife are most proud of.
As far as retirement plans go, Professor Pugh is still wrestling with what to do with all of the time he will have though he remains optimistic. He said he will continue with his passion for tennis he first picked up 35 years ago and he has recently picked up pickleball.
Pugh told The VOICE: “I’m still mulling over what I will be doing for my retirement but I’m sure my wife will have a list for me [laughs]. I like fitness so I will continue to stay active…I also assign ref’s to the NJ Athletic Conference so I plan to attend a lot of games watching my refs.”
Looking back at his career Professor Pugh says, “There have been some very funny moments in my time at Mercer. The kids just come up with such funny things and overall I just enjoy feeling like a family in the classroom. Mercer has been a great home to me.”
