Professor Robert Delfino, Ph.D., '94C believes he always
had a calling to teach, but it was his professors at St. John’s who
greatly influenced him to become an educator: “I come from a family
of teachers, and from an early age I have felt a pull towards
teaching, but it was my professors at St. John's College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences who inspired me to follow in their footsteps and
further explore the teaching field.”
As a philosophy
professor on the Staten Island campus of St. John’s
University, Dr. Delfino believes teaching courses
in metaphysics and ethics naturally tie in to the University’s
mission: “I teach students about morality, purpose in life,
and God and I tie these themes in with St. Vincent’s emphasis on
love and care of one’s neighbor. I am constantly encouraging them
to think about their life, its meaning and purpose and to consider
carefully what goals they want to pursue.”
Teaching at his alma mater has been an extremely
rewarding experience for Dr. Delfino: “There is no greater joy for
me than when I see a student’s eyes ‘light up’ because he or she
has understood a deep metaphysical point, or a profound moral
principle. Experiences like these reinvigorate my passion to
teach.”
“Being a professor at St. John's has opened all sorts of
doors for me. For example, over the last three years I have
presented papers in Rome, Italy; Lublin, Poland; Madrid, Spain; and
Oxford, England,” says Dr. Delfino. The philosophy professor was
recently featured on NYU's Science, Health and Environmental
Reporting Web site, Scienceline, in addition to presenting numerous
papers at conferences around the world.
Dr. Delfino believes input from his students is extremely
valuable and he often has his students read and comment on the
papers he is working on: “Several of these articles were published
and the names of the students were acknowledged in the
endnotes. It brings joy to many of them to see their names
mentioned in a published article.”
Dr. Delfino believes in not only teaching students,
but learning from them as well: “I have learned to see things from
my students’ perspective, and it has inspired me to research
certain areas in philosophy. All of this has deepened my knowledge
and has made me a better person and teacher. As a result, I have
come to realize that teaching is an honor and a privilege. I feel
blessed to have it in my life. It is also a humbling experience,
because a good teacher realizes that you can never stop
learning.”