Unleashing the Indiana in Len
by Rodney Magazinovic
Len
Colgan would be familiar to many students and staff for his exploits in
the school of mathematics for nearly four decades – but he is still so
much a part of UniSA many wouldn’t know he has just retired.
"I’ve always liked adventure," Colgan said.
"I wanted to be Indiana Jones but instead became a mathematician."
Colgan’s career at UniSA began when he applied for a lecturer’s position while still studying postgraduate maths at Flinders University. He spent one year at City East before the mathematics department was moved and he had to start making the long drive out to the newly created Levels campus in 1970.
"For 37 years I’ve been driving 66km to and from work every day. I’ve done nearly three quarters of a million kilometres," he said.
Colgan’s positions at UniSA have included lecturing, administration and head of school. He was also heavily involved in the structuring of the University leading up to its formation in 1991 and has been program director of the Bachelor of Science (a degree that encompasses most schools and all campuses at UniSA).
And he will be familiar to readers of UniSA News through his monthly crossword, Colgan’s Cryptic, an interest he developed as an undergraduate at university.
"I’ve done crosswords since I was a student – I like to have my brain challenged," he said.
"After a while I became a bit blasè about solving the puzzles, so I started creating them."
Another interesting "Colgan" fact is that he collects bromeliads – a large family of flowering plants native to the tropical and temperate Americas. Colgan’s travels in South America fuelled a fascination with the plants and it wasn’t long before he became President of the Bromeliad Society of SA, a position he has held for more than 20 years. Colgan estimates his collection numbers 2000 plants, including one named after himself, Tillandsia colganii, which he discovered in a very remote area of the Andes mountains in Bolivia.
In retirement Colgan is looking forward to continuing his travels. A veteran of 83 countries he says his passion for travelling has not diminished.
And while Colgan will be roughing it in such locations as Samarkand in Uzbekistan and Timbuktu in Mali, fans of the cryptic crossword needn’t panic – even in retirement he will continue to submit his monthly puzzle.