Welcome back to my segment of The Flex: Faculty Spotlight! In this series, I am interviewing members of our faculty here at Pingry. This interview series is meant to highlight some of our extraordinary faculty, the people behind the lectures, tests, and homework, by getting to know them further. Each interview will cover the teacher’s childhood, how they began a career in teaching, and how they arrived at Pingry; then I’ll ask a few fun quick-response questions which will be standard for each teacher. This edition features Mr. William Bourne, a physics teacher who is teaching his forty-first and sadly last year at Pingry.

Mr. Bourne is a true New Jerseyan, having lived in New Jersey all his life. He grew up in the small town of Glen Ridge, the same town where his parents also grew up. With so many years spent in Glen Ridge, his family has a lot of history in town. In fact, his mother was the first female mayor of the town, and Mr. Bourne jokes that if he had remained in Glen Ridge, he may have one day followed in his mother’s footsteps and run for mayor as well.

Teaching held a significant place in Mr. Bourne’s family, as both his mother and grandmother were teachers, and he recalls having a positive experience with his education growing up. He liked school and most of his teachers. One of his favorite teachers was his physics teacher, who used his lessons in optics as an excuse to smoke cigarettes during class. Interestingly, during his senior year of high school, Mr. Bourne had his first experience as a teacher, taking advantage of an opportunity to help teach middle school science and math classes. He enjoyed the experience, but he did not yet think it would lead to a career as a teacher. For sure, he “never thought in a million years [he’d] be a physics teacher!” Instead, Mr. Bourne started to look toward a career in architecture.

Throughout his college years, Mr. Bourne still had no plans to become a teacher. After he graduated, he was preparing to get his master’s in Electrical Engineering, when an amazing opportunity arose. His uncle and “some other investors” approached him and asked him to manage a large building development and renovation project on an old 300+ acre boy scout camp here in New Jersey. Instead of going to graduate school, Mr. Bourne seized this “wonderful and lucrative opportunity.” After that project was completed, the same group of investors offered him an opportunity to oversee the daily operations of a bridge crossing the Mississippi River in which the group had recently gained a controlling interest. Mr. Bourne recounts being “flattered at a young age of twenty-four” to be trusted with such a great responsibility; however, he was getting ready to be married at the time, so he declined the offer, choosing instead to join his wife who was working in New York at the time.

With a bit of uncertainty about his career, it was at this time that Mr. Bourne suggested to his wife that maybe he should try teaching for a few years. However, he didn’t have formal education in teaching and lacked a teaching certificate; as a result, he looked for teaching opportunities at private schools in NJ. Mr. Bourne received multiple teaching offers, of which one was teaching math at MKA, and one teaching physics at Pingry. He ultimately chose Pingry, largely because he preferred to teach physics over math. So in 1984, Mr. Bourne started teaching physics at Pingry. At the time, he figured it might last only a few years. He thought he would probably return to a role in real estate development, but he loved teaching and he loved Pingry, and as a result he stayed for another forty years.

Mr. Bourne also provided great insight into how Pingry has changed in the past forty years. When he first started teaching, class sizes were much smaller, only about 2/3 of the size they are now. In addition, the student body has become much more diverse over time, and women’s sports has grown dramatically. The campus has also gone through a significant amount of change since his first year of teaching in 1984-85. It was the first full year for Pingry at the Basking Ridge Campus, but it was before the Arts Wing, Middle School, and BAC were built. “You’re making me feel old!” he says as he recounts this time.

 

Quick-Response Round:

 

Q: As someone who has lived in New Jersey for a long time: Bon Jovi or Bruce Springsteen?

A: Bruce Springsteen

 

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

A: Safari trip (country not specified)

 

Q: Jets or Giants (or other favorite team)? 

A: Giants

 

Q: Yankees or Mets (or other favorite team)?

A: Mets

 

Q: Favorite food?

A: All food, especially lots of meat, specifically rack of lamb or red meat

 

Overall, Mr. Bourne’s favorite parts of Pingry have been the friendships made both with students and with colleagues. He feels great pride and appreciation when past students reach out, reminding him of the impact he has made on so many students during the past forty years. With so many years at Pingry, there are entire families who have had Mr. Bourne as a teacher, and he talked about how interesting it was to teach children of his former students. He also had the opportunity to teach current staff, including Mr. Lear, and Mr. Bourne’s teaching was “probably the only reason he passed.” Mr. Bourne wants to let everyone know that although he is retiring, he will remain here in New Jersey, so he plans to visit after retirement, and he will see if they stop him at the front door.

Author’s note: I know I’m not alone in saying this, but thank you for all the years teaching at Pingry, and all the best in your retirement!

 

 

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To contact the author: Jack Tedesco '26