Eric S. Bergofsky

Instructor in Mathematics
Appointed
1977
Headshot of Eric Bergofsky

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure." — Colin Powell

Education

M.S.T University of New Hampshire - Manchester

B.E.S. Johns Hopkins University

M.Ed. Johns Hopkins University

Biography

Born and raised in Baltimore, Mr. Bergofsky graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1972 with a degree in systems engineering. After just one year working for a consulting engineering company in Boston, he started his teaching and coaching career in the fall of 1973 at the McDonogh School, just outside Baltimore. After four years of teaching all levels of mathematics, coaching football and lacrosse, and earning a master’s degree at Hopkins, he joined the Exeter Mathematics Department in the fall of 1977.

Mr. Bergofsky served most of his 14-year dormitory career in Dunbar Hall. His major work outside of academics was his coaching of the boys varsity lacrosse team from 1978 until his retirement as coach in 2013. Mr. Bergofsky served as the director of the Anja S. Greer Conference on Secondary School Mathematics, Science and Technology from 1986 to 1992, and continues to teach at that conference almost every summer. He founded the Exeter Mathematics Institute (EMI) outreach program for public school teachers that started in 1992. He was the director of EMI from its inception until the summer of 2013. Mr. Bergofsky has always had a particular interest in using technology in the mathematics classroom, and he co-authored the book Exploring Algebra with the Geometer’s Sketchpad,  published by Key Curriculum Press. Mr. Bergofsky served as the director of studies from 2008 to 2011, and he received a five-year appointment as chair of the Exeter Mathematics Department in 2013.

Most of Mr. Bergofsky’s current interests center around family. His wife, Joan, has worked in the Academy’s admissions office for more than 25 years, and their daughters, Julia and Michele, graduated from the Academy in 1998 and 2002, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Bergofsky currently have five grandchildren who all live close enough to be a constant presence and joy in their lives.