state-ofthe-art

In the Spotlight
Associate Professor of Computer Science Jack Donato joined Jefferson in 1990 and currently chairs the computer science/energy department.
He holds an associate’s degree from Jefferson Community College, a bachelor’s degree from the Institute of Technology at Utica/
Rome and a master’s in education from SUNY Potsdam. Jack also received a 2015 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Who do you consider your mentor and why?
Dr. Charles Echelbarger, who was a philosophy professor at Oswego, really changed my view of teaching. It was a class in critical thinking
and Dr. Echelbarger asked questions all semester. Not once did he state anything - he just kept asking us questions. It was very, very
powerful. It caused us to think and examine the topics for ourselves and discover the content he was teaching. I try to emulate that
experience for my students at Jefferson.
What is your favorite annual campus event or activity and why?
My favorite “event” is not really an event per se’. I like the end of the second week of classes. The students know you a bit better and you
know them a bit better. They are less reserved, but they are also not feeling the pressure of the grades and assignments, etc. It is the time
of the semester where there is a nice classroom environment that allows us to dig into the material and discuss it without the pressure
and angst of the outcomes.
What is your favorite book and why?
I read a lot. OK, my Mom reads a lot as she can finish a novel in a day - she works in a library so she has access to lots of new books. I read
technical stuff. Computer science changes quickly, which means I have to keep up on it. If you think about the technology you were
using 27 years ago (when I started teaching) and what it looks like today, you would say it has changed dramatically. It would stand to
reason that the stuff under the hood has had to change with it, right? There you go - I read a lot.
What do you enjoy most about teaching computer science?
I believe every topic in every discipline can give you something to make you better prepared. I do love my discipline, but my favorite
part of teaching is when the student sees the “light bulb” come on and it does not have to be the topic at hand. There are things students
learn that are every bit as important as the course material.
What is your most significant personal accomplishment?
My children are what I am most proud of personally. They are well-adjusted,
good people. I adore them and enjoy watching them grow.
Who is your favorite superhero and why?
I am not too sure I have a favorite superhero. I have enjoyed all of the
Avenger-related stuff lately, but I still like the idea of the odd-ball, off-the-wall
ones like the Tick, and the ones from Mystery Men (Mr. Furious, the Shoveler,
etc.). I think I like them because they are kind of ordinary people who want to
help make things better. They aren’t in the lime-light and they want to help
out. They are more substance than show. I like that in people.
If you could give your students one piece of advice to carry throughout their
lives, what would it be?
There is no short path to effective change. If you have a goal, make a realistic
plan and then follow it. I truly believe people can be anything they desire, but
the other part of that idea is that they have to work for it. And, please, do it
right. An old adage comes to mind, “There is never enough time to do it right,
but there is always time to do it a second time.”