The Stampede

Media Credit: Tim Hurtak Isaac Nidiffer

Teaching for Isaac Nidiffer, assistant professor of the practice of mathematics, is like sitting down to good dessert, he says.

“I knew from an early age that I wanted to teach math,” Nidiffer said. “I had great teachers. They went beyond the call of duty.”

When Nidiffer was in school, there weren’t specialized programs for art, theater or clubs. The teachers did everything from 4-H to school plays.

“My high school math teacher was the greatest math teacher in the country I think,” Nidiffer said. She taught math, chemistry, physics and could play any instrument.

Nidiffer, an East Tennessee native, graduated from Unaka High School in 1958. He and his two older sisters and one older brother grew up on a farm in the Elizabethton area. His family has always been close. The four siblings still all live within a mile and a half of each other on the outskirts of Elizabethton.

“We didn’t have a lot of material things, but we had a lot of love and plenty of food,” said Nidiffer.

His father worked as a carpenter at the former Bemberg plant in Elizabethton and his mother stayed home to take care of the farm and children. Nidiffer looks back at his time growing up very positively.

“My mother always joined in playing our games whether it was basketball or softball,” Nidiffer said. “Looking back though, my social life was built around school and church.”

Nidiffer’s family was very involved with Hunter First Baptist Church, where he later became the youth director for 25 years.

“Some of my fondest memories are of going to church,” he said.

“We rode the church bus. I always liked it, if it was night, getting wet and going home and drying off, warming up and getting into bed,” added Nidiffer remembering different occasions.

It was at Hunter that he met his wife, Carolyn, whose father came to be the minister when they were both in college. They will be married for 42 years in November and have one daughter, Katrina, who now lives in Nashville.

While Nidiffer has traveled to Europe, New York and used to take yearly trips to Hilton Head, S.C., he and Carolyn have never moved away from East Tennessee.

“We’re sheltered here, we have all four seasons and you can’t beat the hospitality of the South,” Nidiffer said. “I think generally people care about each other more here.”

After graduating from high school, Nidiffer attended East Tennessee State University, where he received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in math with a P.E. minor. Nidiffer worked for 35 years in the Kingsport city school system teaching math and retired from there. He taught everything from basic math to honors calculus.

His wife worked at Eastman, so they used to carpool up to Kingsport for work. Nidiffer would wait until she got off work at five, so he stayed at school to do work and would not have to take schoolwork home with him.

Toward the end of his career in Kingsport, Nidiffer was teaching as an adjunct at Milligan. A spot opened up when he retired, and this is his twelfth year at Milligan.

“I do enjoy it here. It’s a different clientele,” Nidiffer said. “Students who come here usually have a purpose. And I like it here because I feel like I can get to know the students on a personal basis.  

Nidiffer tells his students that he intends to have fun in the classroom and it’s their choice whether they want to or not. However, he realizes that classes are not always fun because it can be hard work to learn the material.

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