When Greg Chamberlain resigned as Bakersfield College president this past February, he decided to go back to teaching and back to helping students on a personal level.

“It has been wonderful to come back to teaching,” said Chamberlain. “I really enjoy the students. The jobs that I have held in administration, while they have been enjoyable for different reasons, but the further up you go the further away you go from the students, and for me it was very important to get back to what I fundamentally believed in, which is do what I can to help the students.”

Chamberlain is currently teaching computer studies. That’s a move back to the past for him. He was hired by BC in 1989 to teach computer studies. After resigning as president, he exercised his retreat rights to go back to the field this fall.

“I always wanted to go back to teaching and knew at some point I would go back to teaching before I retired,” he said. “I had to do a little training because, even though I’m not teaching anything I haven’t taught before, things have changed.”

Chamberlain cited Microsoft Office as an example.

“I’ve used it, and I’ve been using it for the past 12 years, but now I’m teaching it and the versions are different,” he said.

He added that the similarity between being president and teaching is that it’s all about the students.

“People may not realize it, but when you’re a president making decisions you are thinking of what is best for the students,” he said. “It’s not just about money. It really is what is best for the students so that’s the same. We’re  all in this together. Everyone that works here, no matter what your job is, you’re here for the students.

“One of the things that has been different is the time schedule. I am working less hours, but I also have different kinds of hours. I have the ability to work on work at different times, and kind of deal with being more flexible with the demands that are being placed on me. At this point, I prefer it because I’m not a spring chicken anymore, and I’m looking at my quality of life and the time I have to spend with my family. I’m making decisions that are best for my health and for the people around me.”

He explained that a surprise for him was that the incoming students are much more comfortable with the technology.

“It shouldn’t have been that big of a surprise if I thought about it, but I’m teaching in a technology field and the incoming students are much more comfortable with the technology than the incoming students 12 years ago,” he said. “Especially for the students that have just come out of high school, they’ve all had computers in their homes as long as they can remember.”

He also commented on his changed appearance, and how it wouldn’t have been acceptable when he was president.

“I had a whole collection of ties that weren’t suitable for when I was president so I wear those now,” he said. “Also, my hair. I couldn’t get away with long, scraggly hair as president, but now I can.”