Dr. Pritchard

His sarcastic humor and witty personality makes going to his class a delight, even if it's at 8 o'clock in the morning.  But the genius behind this mechanical engineering favorite is Dr. Pritchard's ability to teach a class with impeccable intelligence and plausibility. Sophomore, mechanical engineer Chris Del Gatto says, "Dr. Pritchard is able to take a subject in class and relate it to every day life, keeping the class not only awake, but enjoying every second of it.  Not many teachers can do that."  Almost all of the mechanical students you run into would say something along those lines.  A professor like Dr. Pritchard is hard to come by.  

Growing up in a very poor family in England, Dr. Pritchard had many ambitions when he was young.  In high school, he loved physics and hoped to pursue it in college.  It Britain, however, colleges would pay tuition for students to went to school to become engineers, not so much for becoming physicists.  Deciding physics was too abstract anyway, Dr. Pritchard went to college to become an engineer.  He loved the fact that engineering had to do with "practical" physics done in everyday life.

Dr. Pritchard received a bachelor of technology degree from Bradford University in England in 1971.  That same year he made the choice to come to America, which he describes as one of his most important decisions.  Here he attended Stony Brook University, where he hoped to earn his Ph.D.  He had come from a family of mostly blue collar workers and so wanted to make a name for himself.  Dr. Pritchard's determination to become a teacher was based upon one or two teachers he had in high school that really made the experience of learning interesting.  Unable to attain his Ph.D. at Stony Brook, Dr. Pritchard did receive his masters in mechanical engineering from the college and then took a break from schooling for a while. 

For a short period of time he worked as a design engineer for Ford Motor Company in Michigan, where he designed and developed various transmission components for automobiles.  Still, this was not what he had hoped to be doing with his degrees; in his mind, Dr. Pritchard truly wanted to teach. 

In 1981 when he was 33 years old, Dr. Pritchard came to Manhattan College without his Ph.D. and started to work as an instructor.  While teaching he went to school to continue working on his Ph.D.  During this time, Dr. Pritchard depicts one week as probably the most amazing one of his life.  In that one week he received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, got tenure, and bought himself a new home.  He says that if he had not gotten his Ph.D. that week, nothing that came afterwards would have been possible.

When it comes to teaching, Dr. Pritchard considers his favorite part to be working with young people.  He loves to learn new things from them and even with them.  He is a true advocate for furthering his students and his own knowledge of computers and various software programs.  Dr. Pritchard believes that a good knowledge of computers will help any student exceed in their studies and professional life.  

Dr. Pritchard's accomplishments range from winning teacher of the year awards from the mechanical department on several occasions, to publishing two books.  His publications include "Introduction to Fluid Mechanics" and "Mathcad: A Tool for Engineering Problem Solving".  He is extremely proud of these academic endeavors.  Personally, Dr. Pritchard says that his biggest accomplishment was coming to the United States.  He recommends that every person should experience living in another country at some point in their life.  In addition, Dr. Pritchard tried to revive this very magazine a few years ago within the department.  The magazine was then passed on to its current faculty advisor, Dr. Carbonaro.  He hopes that more students will get involved in such a great publication.

Today, Dr. Pritchard is happily married to his wife Penelope, a retired elementary school teacher.  He has no children, but if you ever visit his office be sure to ask about his adorable new puppy, Sushi.  There is a picture of the black, blue-eyed, toy poodle right on his desk.  He and his wife own a summer home in Pennsylvania, where Sushi has five acres of land to run on.  He describes owning a summer home, coming from such humble backgrounds, as a huge accomplishment as well.

His advice to the current engineering students at Manhattan College is to study hard.  Unlike when he was a student, Dr. Pritchard says that today you need to study on a regular basis.  He recommends that students do all their assignments early and that there definitely be no crunching.  Read the book and practice good study habits because it will pay off big time in the work field.  This belief is represented whenever you sit in one of Dr. Pritchard's classes.  Do not dare to hand in an assignment late or come strolling in fifteen minutes after class has started.  Dr. Pritchard treats you as you will be treated in the professional world.  He prepares you for what you will encounter in only a few short years.  This is exactly the sort of firmness that is necessary in a college environment, and what makes him such a fantastic professor.

So, for anyone out there who has never had Dr. Pritchard or is just starting his class this semester, don't automatically be afraid when you meet the strict man with a British accent staring back at you from the front of the classroom.  His goal, most definitely, is to help you succeed and become a better student and professional.  He is a man who had ambitions, accomplished them, and wants you to do the same.