The news about the end of Denton's lengthy tenure at the College brought a variety of memories to students and faculty alike.
Professor of Mathematics David Cox recalled Denton's kind gestures after Cox's arrival at the College. "I have fond memories of how welcome Jim made me feel when I first arrived at Amherst," he said. "He invited me to join him and other companions on some fun hikes in the area."
Cox also said that he has learned an importnat teaching lesson from Denton. "One important lesson I've learned from Jim is the importance of making sure that students understand the lecture while the lecture is being given," he said. "Jim continually challenges his students to articulate what is going on in the lecture. This helps the students deepen their understanding of the material. This has also challenged me to ask more of my students, and I am a better teacher as a result."
Professor of Mathematics Daniel Velleman recalled experiences with Denton that occured outside of their professional lives. "One experience I've had with Prof. Denton that is different from the rest of my department is that he and I both sing in a local choral group, the Da Camera singers," Velleman said. "Several other Amherst faculty also sing in the group. Jim has a wonderful deep bass voice. Although he'll be retiring from teaching at the end of this year, I look forward to continuing to sing with him every Wednesday evening."
Math major and former student Liz Staunton '05 recalled Denton's story-telling ability. "He's a great guy. I'd always go to meet with him after class. He loved telling us war stories," said Staunton. "After you asked him one question, you'd be in his office for an hour. He was great, especially outside class."
Christian Wilson '05 echoed Staunton's comments about Denton's commitment to his students. "Outside of class, he always finds time to meet with students," said Wilson. "In class, what makes him such a great professor is the real-life stories he'd tell about how math affected his life. You were able to see the real-life aspects of what you were studying. That really helped to grab the material."
David Chachere '06, who has taken numerous classes with Denton, stressed the effort Denton made to interact with his students. "I think he's a great professor because he goes out of his way to help and encourage the students in his classes as well as outside of class," he said. "He's a monumental figure in the history of our college and Amherst will not be the same without him."
Denton has witnessed dramatic changes in the College over his 41-year career. Perhaps most notably, the College became co-ed in the middle of his time here. "Well when I came here, it was a school of 1200 men," said Denton. The gender composition of the faculty changed in addition to the composition of the students. During his fisrt few years at the College, Denton said that there was only one woman on the faculty, Professor of Psychology Rose Olver.
Another important experience occured during the 1970 student occupation of Converse Hall, Frost Library, the Science Center and part of the administrative building as a result of civil rights issues. Denton recalled the great attention the event receieved, including television crews. Students from UMass, Smith and Mt. Holyoke Colleges were involved in the occupation as well. "They [students] organized it very well," Denton said. "One thing I found out later that upset me was that one of the people from UMass had brought a revolver."
Denton received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, and after graduation he spent some time in southern California as a chemist. Denton then went to the University of Oregon for graduate school. There, he took a position as a teaching assistant. Although he first gained experience in teaching in 1956, Denton did not consider pursuing a career in teaching until nearly 10 years later. "At that point, I didn't realize that I would be a professor," he said.
After receiving his Ph.D, Denton did not return to chemistry and instead entered the statistics department at Stanford University. Later, Denton received a call from an acquaintance asking him to take a faculty position at the College.
Denton's statistics experiences in the math department during graduate school gave him a strong background in mathematics and ultimately allowed him to become a math professor at the College. "My math background was more extensive than most statisticians'," said Denton. "It meant that I could teach most of the math classes here."
Denton accepted a position at the College although he did not expect to stay for too long. "One thing led to another and I decided to come here," said Denton. "I have to say honestly that I didn't expect to stay here for more than two or three years." The College's decision to give him tenure after only four years surprised him and contributed to his decision to stay longer. Little did he know that his earlt tenure would lead to 41 years at the College.
Although there are benefits to retiring, Denton could not help but admit that he has mixed emotions about leaving the College. "It's something that has some [attractive] aspects," he said. However, he also added that he would have to make adjustments to his life since his identity had been tied to his job for so long.