Kelly Hertz/P&D

Retiring From MMC

After working at Mount Marty College for more than 20 years, current vice president and dean of academic affairs Bob Tereshinski will be retiring July 1. Since he began at Mount Marty, he has served as a baseball coach, instructor, professor and dean.

 

Bob Tereshinski still remembers first arriving in Yankton in early 1965.

“Paul Rehfuss, who was a recruiter for Yankton College and was also from the Philadelphia area, talked to me about what I thought about coming out to the Midwest, going to Yankton College and playing baseball and football there,” Tereshinski said. “I remember I flew into the Yankton airport on the Blue Goose and remember coming up to the door of the airplane, and the wind and the cold hit me. It was 8 degrees that night and I never forgot that.”

He added that he saw the snow piled up on the side of the runway, and that he was homesick for about his first two weeks in Yankton as he dealt with adjusting to the Midwest style of living.

Since then, however, he has never looked back and now he’s getting ready to retire July 1 after working at Mount Marty College for more than 20 years.

“This is my third time trying to retire and I don’t even know if it will be my last,” Tereshinski said. “I have to enjoy retirement for a while and see if it hits my likes and dislikes in life. I know that it’s time to do something else and try some other direction in life.”

He added that he is looking forward to being able to spend more time with his family and enjoying some of his many hobbies, including refinishing antique furniture, gardening, fishing and      hunting.

“I also have three granddaughters that I love spending time with who all live in Yankton,” Tereshinski said. “I spend a lot of time teaching them how to fish and they spend a lot of time teaching me a lot about dancing and gymnastics.”

Tereshinski first began his career at Mount Marty College at age 40, when then-athletic director Dean Specht approached him about coaching baseball.

“They needed a baseball coach and admissions counselor, so I started out here in that position,” he said. “I eventually went on to become an instructor here, an assistant professor, and was approached by Dr. James Barry about being the acting dean for the college.”

After becoming the acting dean, Tereshinski received the full position in 2010-11, and has been working in his current office for the past four years.

Specht said he enjoyed the time he spent working with Tereshinski.

“Bob (Tereshinski) was very successful and provided a lot of leadership for the players he coached over the years,” he said. “I knew he had a special interest in baseball after playing at Yankton College and, when I approached him, he looked forward to the opportunity to work with college-aged students.”

Since serving as the dean of Mount Marty, Tereshinski has focused on producing new programs, particularly in the nursing, anesthesia, education and business programs.

“After working here for more than 20 years, I knew those areas were key components of the educational process here at MMC,” he said. “I knew that a lot of the labor markets in this area focus on those four areas.”

Over the past several years, Tereshinski has helped develop the practical nursing program and added business specializations in finance, health administration and banking.

“In 26 years here, I don’t think there was a day that I didn’t like coming to work at Mount Marty,” he said. “I loved my baseball career because I had such great kids that played for me during those 11 years.”

Tereshinski said that he’s ready to not have a set schedule and to have new experiences outside of the confines of an everyday job.

He will also get to speak at the MMC commencement on Saturday, where he plans to speak to students about the experiences they’ll encounter in life.

“Everything I get to do here each day is a new experience for me,” Tereshinski said. “Every day is a learning experience because I’ve never really been a part of administrative work. In some cases, managing faculty is a lot like running a baseball club, except you have individuals a lot smarter than you are.”

Not so coincidentally, Bob’s wife Judy will be retiring this year as well after serving as a math and Spanish teacher at Yankton High School (YHS) for the past 43 years.

“I told my wife that I was going to retire and said to her that she shouldn’t base her decision off what I was doing,” he said. “I knew how much she loved teaching at YHS and loved the kids she taught, so she had to be able to make her own       decision.”

Many of the faculty members at Mount Marty have positive experiences working with Tereshinski during his years of service.

“Bob was an excellent coach and teacher and expected great things from himself and others,” said Sister Candy Chrystal, associate professor of teacher education at MMC. “Bob has been an excellent dean and has expected great things from himself and others. He’s gotten things done when they hit his desk, and told his colleagues and faculty when they did something well, and when they fell short, but still cared about them, regardless.”

Pam Schaefer, who has worked with Tereshinski for the past 26 years, said Tereshinski’s personality stands out to her.

“Bob has always liked working with students in all capacities,” she said. “Whether it’s teaching, coaching or administrative duties, Bob has done it all. He has the respect of everyone on campus and his smile and greetings to us brighten our day. Dedication and hard work describes Bob’s work ethic in the many roles he played during his years of service.”

Joanne Marsh, who has served as Tereshinski’s administrative assistant for the past four years, said he has always been a man of integrity and honesty.

“He’s been respected by both the Mount Marty community and the Yankton community,” she said. “He has always had the well-being of the college in the forefront of all of his decisions. I will miss his quick-witted humor, but wish him well in his retirement years.”

Sarah Carda, vice president of student affairs, said Tereshinski has been a pleasure to work with.

“Bob is one of those professionals that makes an impact beyond his own area,” she said. “He was an outstanding and committed educator who was able to evolve into an administrator without ever losing focus of our ultimate mission of education students. What’s more remarkable during all the positions he has held is that he always did it with confidence and a fantastic sense of humor.”

Tereshinski said that he has also enjoyed his career as an educator because the faculty he has worked with have been creative and supportive.

“I will really miss the day-to-day challenges that you have. Not one day is the same — each day is different,” he said. “The success stories take time to put together, as far as successful programs go. But we’ve had a lot of small successes that happen here every year, and there is getting to be more and more of them.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at    twitter.com/andrewatwal