He is one of the best professors I have ever had. He gives out a list of everything you need to know for the midterm and final. If you memorize those then you're all set on your way to get an A in the class.

TOM ROCKS! Just like everyone else here has said, he's hilarious, comfortable with his subject matter, but bubbling over with contagious enthusiasm for everything from Polynesians discovering the Americas to remote sensing. When I was in the class it felt like I was getting all the relevant facts and not dwelling on anything for too long... the weird thing is that recently, travelling around California, I've actually remembered everything about the state's biogeography that came up in his class. He's a tremendously effective teacher who tends to camp out in his office, waiting for students to engage him in conversation.
Which brings me to my last point - he's one of those rare professors who is still eager to learn. You can tell by the way he shares his own learning experiences with others, and if you ever see him on campus or stop in to say hi, HE'LL BE THE ONE ASKING THE QUESTIONS. Honestly. That in itself makes him one of the most intelligent figures in our community.

I have never actually looked forward to a class until I took Gillespie for geog 2. This guy is awesome. You will be hard pressed to find a funnier and more laid back professor. He has very interesting and relevant stuff to say, which makes the time fly by in class. His tests are also a breeze. Definitely take him if you can!

wow... do take a class with him, go to his office hours, talk to him and get to know him, he is THE most awesome prof you'll ever get to know here. totally cool, really great sense of humor, wonderful and very relevant stories relate to lecture and readings, love the exclamation marks!! loved the sloths and the coati and the porcupine and the fennic fox! i would probably never have had the chance to see them up close and personal like that if it weren't for his class.
WOW! take as many of his classes as you can, easy reading, good lectures, covers everything you need to know, really flexible with students and totally accessible and easy to talk to, lab's a breeze, if you're in love with Hawaii and the tropics and every cool place on the planet this is the class & prof for you! like he says, as long as you go to lecture and you don't have a nasty heroine addiction there's NO way you can't get an A in his class.
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Geog 2 is the most fun way to take care of your Life Science GE lab req. Gillespie is a fabulous teacher and I wish I could take more classes with him. I really like how he teaches and does his midterm review. He makes class informative but entertaining, and tells interesting stories to illustrate his point. He is patient with students and is always available outside of class if you have questions also. He has a cute way of adding exclamation points after key words("biogeography!", "speciation!") and brought in a sloth and the world's smallest fox for us to see. As if all this wasn't enough to motivate you to go to class, it also helps that Gillespie is young, attractive, funny and articulate.

Dr. Gillespie is a great teacher! He keeps the class lively by inserting jokes throughout the lecture and I think its cool how he puts the exclamation marks after every key word on the board. He covers all the material that needs to be covered while remaining upbeat and energetic. Before the tests, he reviews everything. On halloween, he even came to class dressed as a tree! I had a full load this quarter, so I was considering dropping the class until I went to his first lecture. I decided to keep the class after that. I would take another one of his classes next quarter if I didn't have so many other GEs to take first. I HIGHLY recommended him.

It was one of the best classes that i have ever taken. this is the nices guy and a great teacher. he does all he can to make the time your in class as painless as possible. i really learn in his class and i also have a great time. i dont know why more people havent commented on prof. gillespie..