A Conversation with Professor Tony Quinn
At the end of June, Assistant Professor of Business Anthony N. “Tony” Quinn retired after 23 years at Colby-Sawyer College. I sat down with my former professor before his retirement to learn more about the man outside the classroom.
Q: What has been the most rewarding part of your years at Colby-Sawyer?
A: The students. Every one of them. They have great challenges, and I see them grow. It's very rewarding when I see that. That's why I'm here.
Q: You were a senior member of the sales management organization at IBM. What was it like to transition into teaching?
A: I taught in graduate school, so the transition was perhaps easier than it might have been. At IBM,I managed sales offices as well as some other duties. Motivating and training salespeople is a lot like teaching students. You have to have them grow into the knowledge of business and to understand the importance of timing. They have to understand customer relations, relations with their faculty and with each other, too.
Q: Why did you change your focus from economics to sales?
A: When I worked as an economist, I found things moved slowly. I'm not a patient person, and I got bored. So I left the company, which was a good company, and I asked myself what I really wanted to do. I decided I wanted to work outside, not inside. I wanted to work with people, not with things. I wanted to be promoted based on my ability. I wanted to be rewarded based on my productivity. Looked like sales to me.
Q: For 23 years, I have wanted to know about a photo you have on your desk of you fly fishing. Who is pictured with you?
A: In the center is my best friend. I fished with him for 50 years all over the United States. On the left is my older son, and on the right is my younger son. Both of them are far better fishermen than I am. It turned into a family affair. I intend to do some fishing after Commencement.
Q: What are you most looking forward to doing after you leave the college?
A: You have to understand that I have one of the best woodshops in creation. You also have to understand I am the worst carpenter in the world. I found that out after 30 days in that woodshop. I'm not capable in that area. Probably what I'll do is volunteer on projects, because I just can't sit around and do nothing. I tell people that I'm going to get a job where I don't have to manage anybody, and I don't have to make any decisions. And I don't care whether I get paid or not.
Q: What would your students be surprised to know about you?
A: That's a tough question because I talk a lot. Most don't know that I spent the first 18 years of my life on a farm. I milked 50 head of cattle night and morning as soon as I was old enough. I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. And they probably don't recognize how proud I am of my family and how close my family is. When I tell stories about my wife, it's about her teasing me. She is a wonderful lady, however, and I have great kids and grandkids.
Q: Besides theory, what is the biggest lesson you try to teach students?
A: That they are responsible for their future, and that they should learn to pay themselves first before they pay anybody else. If they do that, and if they save during their process of growing and stepping through jobs, they'll be comfortable when they retire. That is their responsibility to themselves and to their families. It's important for them to understand.
Q: How did you feel when President Galligan told you that you would receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters at Commencement?
A: Astonished. I didn't think I was deserving. See, teaching has always been fun for me. I've enjoyed every day, and I always tell students, “If you don't like the work you're doing, it's pretty tough to be successful in it.” I enjoyed the kids, I enjoyed my colleagues. The degree was a tremendous honor and a total surprise.
Q: You will be missed. The college is losing one of its cornerstones.
A: Nobody is irreplaceable. There will be another who will do what I did and hopefully enjoy it as much. It always happens; somebody else can do the job. Although I jokingly said to the person who's going to teach economics, “On the first day of class in the fall, I might just put on my suit and appear as a guest lecturer.”
-Anthony Librot '94, CPA, MSF, is a Mass.-based accountant and partner with Waldron H. Rand& Company, P.C. He holds a B.S. in business administration from Colby-Sawyer and a master's degree in finance from Suffolk University's Sawyer School of Management.
Colby-Sawyer College is a comprehensive college that integrates the liberal arts and sciences with professional preparation. Founded in 1837, Colby-Sawyer is located in the scenic Lake Sunapee Region of central New Hampshire. Learn more about the college's vibrant teaching and learning community at www.colby-sawyer.edu.
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