As a young man, criminal justice professor Robert Hurley planned on becoming a priest. However, rather than influencing church members on a religious level, Hurley is now influencing students in a different way- through the gift of knowledge.

Growing up in San Francisco, Hurley lived with his parents and two brothers in a “stable home life.”

“Every summer, my family would travel throughout the United States for weeks, which may have contributed to my love of travel,” Hurley said.

From 1954 to 1956, Hurley attended Riordan High School, an urban Catholic high school for boys. At 17, he transferred to St. Peter Schnell High School and Seminary College, where he was studying to become a priest. He remained there until he was 23.

“I decided it was a wonderful vocation, but it wasn’t the way I wanted to spend the rest of my life,” he said.

After Hurley decided not to pursue a life of priesthood, he decided to pursue his bachelor’s degree instead.

Hurley earned his B.A. in history from Lincoln University in San Francisco. Soon after leaving San Francisco, he went on to obtain his B.A. in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.

Hurley went on to attend the University of Hawaii, where he received his master’s degree in American Studies and later his doctorate in American Studies: Public Policy. During his graduate studies, he began teaching adult education courses at Oahu State Prison and was later invited to give a lecture as a guest speaker at the university on his experience with the prison system.

“I did it and from that moment on, I knew I could spend the rest of my life teaching,” Hurley said.

After realizing that teaching was his purpose in life, Hurley and his wife of 41 years, Margaret, moved to Colorado in 1969, where he taught history, government and sociology at the St. Thomas College of Denver and the Community College of Denver.

“It was interesting work…I enjoyed it so much I decided I wanted to teach additional areas,” he said.

In 1974, Hurley went back to school. He attended the University of Denver Law School where he received his M.A. of science in Legal Studies.

In April 1976, Hurley was visiting family in California when he visited the Criminal Justice department at Sacramento State. He’d heard about a job opening for a regulatory and court administration professor and applied.

At the time, the university was looking to hire four new professors who had teaching and field experience.

Hurley was one of the chosen few.

Hurley’s first day at Sac State was August 26, 1976. His first classroom was Douglas 212, which happens to be the same classroom he teaches in today.

Hurley said his first day of teaching was surprising.

“There were 110 students in my section; I’ll never forget it,” Hurley said. “It was overwhelming; I thought I’d only have 30 students. Now I teach in large lecture halls with…120 students.”

He was a full-time professor at Sac State for 27 years before becoming a part-time professor in 2002.

“The years seem to have passed very quickly; I am in my thirty-second year and I started as a kid,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of changes here in the university, but the essence of it is still the same. The focus is still making education available to California students.”

Hurley feels that the purpose of teaching is to get students involved in their learning.

“The ultimate goal is to provide content and to get people to think critically,” Hurley said. “I love teaching.”

Junior criminal justice major Amber Scott feels that Hurley’s teaching style is very student-oriented.

“He always puts in the effort to make sure everyone has the opportunity to pass his class,” Scott said. “He communicates well with his students and he really tries his hardest to make his subject as enjoyable as possible; I really liked his class.”

Although Hurley will be retiring at the end of this semester, he hopes to remain involved in the teaching environment and feels that he won’t ever lose his passion for teaching.

Throughout his teaching career, Hurley has been honored numerous times for his excellent teaching methods and his support for student activities. In 1982 he was even recognized by the California State Legislature and awarded the “Outstanding Service for the People of California” award for his service to his community.

“It was very generous and kind of them to honor me with this award,” he said.

In addition to being involved in his community and school-environment, Hurley said his family also plays a large role in his life.

Hurley said his favorite hobby is raising his children because, as a child, it was his family that provided the foundation for his life. He and his wife have six children, three boys and three girls, and four grandchildren.

The couple adopted their two youngest children, Natasha, 21, and Vasia, 22, from Russia in 1996.

Hurley said he first visited Russia in 1995 to conduct research work for the university. The trip involved graduate students and was part of a project to make rural-areas in Russia more democratic.

During his time there, he and the students were housed at a local orphanage where they were able to meet and socialize with the orphaned children.

Within a few weeks there, Hurley said he and his wife had decided to adopt two children.

“We were very fortunate,” said Vasia, junior criminal justice major. “I’m really grateful for being adopted…I wasn’t too far away from 16. In the orphanage, they let you out on the streets or send you to school (at 16). If I was let go…I would have had no way to contact my sister for the three years until she was let out?that was mind blowing because we are very close.”

The adoption process took almost two years to complete, but in August 1996, both children reached the United States.

The adoption had a positive impact on those involved.

“We never expected to be adopted,” Vasia said. “Having a dad was a major thing…being able to relate to him was even more meaningful.”

Long-time family friend, Helen Williams said, “Vasia’s affection for Bob was really something to observe; he was always hanging onto his arm as a younger boy, it was very touching.”

The Hurleys first met the Williams family, shortly after moving to Sacramento when their oldest daughter, Shannon, met Loni, the Williams’ daughter, in elementary school.

“Our girls were best friends,” Williams said.

The two families have been close for over 20 years.

“There’s a lot of compatibility between (our) families,” she said.

Williams described Hurley as “very encouraging and extremely supportive of his family.”

“What I admire…is that he’s always on the alert for ways to help his students,” Williams said.

She said she saw one of Hurley’s classes on a local television station a while ago and feels he is a very strong professor.

“I really admire his teaching style; he gets really excited about the material and presents it in a fascinating way. It’s really worth seeing a good teacher in action,” Williams said.

Hurley said teaching should be a fun activity and that students shouldn’t have to dread going to class.

“Learning should be fascinating, not boring or dull,” Hurley said. “To me, if I can’t have an interesting class that provokes students or stirs up the class, then I’d rather not do it.”

Teaching has provided an outlet for Hurley to express his imagination.

“I love the creativity of teaching; there’s no one to teach, there are thousands of ways to transfer knowledge,” Hurley said. “I try to get people to get a lot of interaction in class, even in big sections; there’s no room for sleeping.”

In addition to spending time with his family and inspiring those in the classroom, Hurley has recently taken up woodworking and is working on refinishing items he has acquired in his world travels. He is also interested in investments, business and real estate.

“I enjoy practical things like interest rates and property acquisitions,” he said. “I try to keep on top of the business market.”

The Hurleys have always been involved in overseas teaching. Two to three times a year, they travel to Kings University in Bangkok, Thailand where they are actively involved in teaching through a month-long program for Thai students working on their degrees.

“I’ve enjoyed the association with Robert…he’s always seemed to be so enthusiastic about his students,” said William Vizzard, criminal justice chair. “What stands out the most about him is his interest in international teaching.”

Hurley has received two Fulbright Awards, scholarships awarded to foster international research and collaboration, which he fulfilled in South Africa and Nigeria.

Throughout his career, he has also taught in northern Beijing three times and in Russia four times.

Hurley is currently looking into joining a Spanish language immersion program and said, “I am looking for different opportunities for my wife and I to go to different venues; I want to improve myself and am constantly learning.”

Hurley’s experiences have helped him realize the impact that involvement in overseas programs has made on his life.

“Since becoming a teacher, I’ve grown and learned a lot, I’ve met fascinating people and have been able to travel all over the world for research teaching,” Hurley said. “I very much enjoy my work and enjoy teaching; I prefer to think of myself as still being around and being involved in the future.”

Amber Kantner can be reached at [email protected].