Very friendly, helpful guy. Gets off track a bit, but always has interesting things to say.

Enthusiastic, excellent at explaining things, lots of class discussion, a really nice guy.

Very entertaining lecturer. Lecture does NOT replace the reading, but adds to it. Good selection of readings for the class, good delivery of ideas. Does get off-track, but usually not too far.

Gotta love Gillis.

Best prof. at PSU. makes philosophy interesting and is good at teaching the concepts, funny, MUST HAVE AT LEAST ONCE.

My favorite prof at psu! Wonderful, fun, intelligent lectures. He has a great sense of humor and gets every student involved in the classroom discussions. If you don't take a class from Gillis you are really missing out!

You can't go wrong with Gillis! Unless of course you don't put in your side of work!

Great person, great class. The kind of guy who teaches, and extends the relationships he builds with his students into everyday academic life. Love this guy.

Gillis is the man...I've never laughed my ass off from one professor, but he is truly brilliant. Don't let his coarse manner throw you off, he's a genius.

Cool guy, lets you try one more time if you mess up. :o

Funny, interesting, and truly cares about the individuality of each student.

I've taken multiple classes from gillis and plan on taking more. He is an awesome professor that really cares about his students, very willing to help, and you don't have to be a perfect writer to do well in his courses. Highly reccommend him, definetly take him if you get the chance, well worth it.

Absolutely loved his class. It was alot of fun and really interesting. I learned a great deal from his religion class, though if you are very devout you may not like it. Personally I recommend him to anyone willing to question the world. I will take his classes again. HE IS GREAT!

Great and brilliant professor, and is absolutely hilarious! He's very dedicated to philosophy, eager to help students, and great to talk to. If you are going to take philosophy and are up for a rewarding challenge, take his classes!

Gillis is an incrediblly gifted teacher, inspiring intellectual and hilarious, energetic, and friendly man. He works very hard for his students and expects it in return- and he really takes the time to deeply answer good questions. My minimal interest in philosophy has changed to a philosophy major because of the passion and curiosity Gillis create

Lectures full of entertaining but useless tangents;encouraging of class discussions, interacts with class a lot; elaborate within boring boundaries about topic at hand, although is straightforward about what's expected for tests; overview of basic philosophy concepts; very approachable and passionate about subject, tries hard to relate to students

I really enjoyed both classes I took with Prof. Gillis. He's a polarizing character, but exactly what I want in a PHL professor. He is very smart, knowledgable, passionate, humble, and funny. He doesn't put up with ANY BS, some people have a problem with his use of expletives, and he often shares his personal opinions.

I don't understand why everyone hates Gillis, I'm guessing people who do don't have a sense of humor and need to lighten up. Gillis was hilarious, and he knew his stuff. He can ramble on a bit during lecture, but they're usually on-topic tangents. Tests/class assignments are very writing-intensive though.

Gillis is not only a great teacher, but a highly intellectual and down-to-earth person. I enjoyed his class because I learned loads of information from the short class length. Those who give him negative feedback only judge him by superficial methods; if you can look past occasional slips of the tongue, you will enjoy his honesty and freshness.

Gillis is just about the coolest teacher i've met at PSU. If you can't get his sense of humor you seriously need to relax! He may be a bit spacey at times but what do you expect from a philosophy teacher? And if you have a problem with him sitting on top of tables its just because you're jealous you are stuck in a desk.

I really enjoyed this prof he is incredibly charismatic. He explained the material very well, however his grading is sketchy. The class was introductory and he expected a fair amount from the students but what do you expect from a subject that has had thousands of years of input.

Arbitrary grading, DO NOT TAKE. Honestly, I was a straight A student for my entire life until I took his class. Straight A's do not constitute the whole, but I put my best into everything and it's not that I failed to understand the material at the "A-level." It's arbitrary grading.

I personally find Gillis to be an inspiring and insightful teacher. He is one of the most real professor's i've encountered at psu. If you are intelligent enough you can get all the material you need out of his lectures. He sometimes tangents but always manages to tie everything back to the material. I highly recommend him.

Shocked at some of the negative feedback. Simply put, Gillis was one the best profs I have ever had. He has a love for teaching that is rare and an expectation of excellence that is refreshing. My guess is that many are angry due to receiving a poor grade. Ask lots of questions of be prepared to be challenged. He does not give out many A's.

He may be a little unclear at times but he is a PHILOSOPHY teacher. He loves his students and it is clear, any help I needed I could go to him after classes if he couldn't address it in class. His assignments are easy and as long as you make it clear you are trying he will grade you highly. He is spastic and fun. ...................A must take.

Had him for SINQ. Funny, fun to be around, informal, helpful, but sometimes condescending ("kid", "kiddo"), repetitive jokes, and a bit of a downer. Great UNST teacher, probably would consider someone else for a serious, high level PHL class though.

Overall, I found this class to be interesting. He was very good at keeping the class focused on the content which can be hard to do in a philosophy cluster course. The grades I received were fair and I would definitely take a course from this professor again.

He was all over the place all the time. Hard to follow his thought process. Asked the same questions over and over. His grading had nothing to do with our actual work. He cusses and is totally impolite. He loves to make disrespectful comments. However- he is more than willing to help you whenever he can and he can be funny.

Bob's a wonderful teacher and an overall fantastic human being. If you're taking his class to coast through, you won't do well. If you're passionate about the subject matter and engage in the intellectual discourse he drives, you'll love the environment. Great sense of humor, cares about his students, and super smart.

This has my favorite course taken in college. He is a very entertaining and engaging lecturer.. He's also very approachable and gives excellent clarifications and discussions. I recommend this course.

Great lectures, really enjoy Gillis' lecture style.

Professor Gillis is an excellent philosophy professor. He has very high expectations of grammar and spelling, so be sure to get your "there, their, they're's" correct. Be warned, if you speak up in class, he will back you into a philosophical corner. You will be expected to support your arguments and connect them to your conclusions!

Quite the character, but not as much an effective teacher but he is aware of that and it probably wouldn't be hard to try and reign him in. He likes to go off on tangents about his life and he is very candid in his language. He feels like a bro you might hang out with. His exam questions are pretty hard though so read as much as you can.

I went to all but 3 classes. I never once opened the book. I passed all midterms and the final with exceptional ease. If you show up and absorb the info, it's easy to pass. This was a cluster class for me, I have no interest in Philosophy, but Gillis made it bearable.

When class first began he was funny but really irritated me. Ignored my raised hand and called on other people without hands up; still not sure why but it got better as class progressed. You have a paper due every week, plus 2 longer (8 page) papers PLUS a final of 5 essays. I write fast and I needed 2 hours and 2 green books for it. He's funny!!

Gillis is the best. He makes you think, and he makes you work, but he's honest and hardworking himself so you don't mind. Love this guy, and I'm so grateful to have taken his class!

Loved his passion for the topic and given how vague and difficult philosophy is he really does a good job of making it digestible. He's very funny but is a very tough grader and if you don't do the readings the lectures and assignments will be rough. He's the reason I'm minoring in philosophy

I love this man. Have had him for a few upper-level philosophy courses and I can say with surety that he is my favourite philosophy prof. at PSU. As long as you show up, do the reading and put in some hard thinking you should do fine. All of his classes are graded by essay tests and papers; pretty standard for 300+ philosophy classes.

Gillis is one of the best professors I've had. His lectures are pretty free-form and tangents occur, but I definitely learned a lot from this class. Graded only on two exams (short answer, final isn't cumulative), a medical terminology quiz, and a 5-page reflection. You have to put in some effort, but if you pay attention to lecture you'll be fine.

Bob G. Is a great professor who understood the plight of students at this school. He made the class more attached to the real world, and made discussion about the ethical choices we make to achieve happiness really informative. He sometimes veiers off topic but never into the median, its usually contained in the topic. He cared about teaching.

I have taken 3 courses with Gillis, and I have learned a great deal from each. His classes are challenging and fun, and I really like how he allows class discussions. This class was especially interesting, and I feel like I will carry the knowledge with me for a long time. I will have taken several more classes with him by the end of college.

Great teacher. Follows syllabus. We only had to buy one book that was like $20, cheaper even if used. Lectures were very interesting. Assignments were clear and reasonably easy IF you do the reading.

I have known Bob for over a year, now. He may be off-putting, at first, but give him some time. He is brilliant in his field, and is a very caring person. At times it seems like his lectures are his first time dealing with the material, which is good. He'll pick up different things, different times, which gives you a more well rounded understanding

Bob is a wonderful teacher who genuinely cares about his students and is passionate about what he teaches. Expect to learn something in this class, but expect to have to try too. Welcome to college everybody. Bob is fair and will help you, but you need to ask him. Yes he does swear in class and can seem intimidating, but he really one if the best.

Lectures are interesting and you never doze off due to boredom. The tests are hard if you don't go to lectures. But, the lectures are awesome, so you should be fine. I missed 2 or 3 classes in the term and it was fine. Bob is very fun to listen to.

Here are the facts: You either jive with his style or you don't. As a student, you either put in the work to understand hard material (this is PHL after all), or you don't. If you genuinely value PHL, then Bob has something in store. If you don't care about learning it, that's on you. He is a good human and helps you figure out how to be one too.

Bob is great. Very casual, doesn't place his role as a prof on a pedestal, so he is easy to talk to and easy to learn from. Many short readings can be a little hard to follow(but thats philosophy) Notes were online- Print them and take additional notes inclass! Helpful, Intelligent, a little sporadic, can resubmit papers for better grades, the best

Case study(CS) readings 2x a week, six 1 page CS opinion writeups, and a final paper. Not graded on much. sometimes he wil let you resubmit for a better grade. In class discusions are on the CS, and talk about our opinions, plays devils advocate, wants u2 ask questions! He makes a dark topic feel cool to learn. He deserves a raise! a good man

Bob Gillis was my favorite professor at Portland State. There's no competition. While he's a bit weird, and he does tend to go on tangents, he presents the subject matter in a way that is engaging and very interesting.

Bob has been a fantastic teacher! He was throw into this term last minute to replace another professor and really handled the situation well. Hes great at explaining concepts to those struggling in class and has a fantastic sense of humor while teaching difficult topics. I would absolutely recommend his classes, but be prepared for some hard work.

Bobspeak has become one of my favorite, yet hardest languages to understand. He's one hell of a guy who gives it his all. You'll leave class feeling inspired, and puzzled. Team up on those quizzes because they're brutal. He appreciates engagement and loves to answer questions. Prior knowledge of philosophical concepts is helpful, but not needed.

Class with Bob will either be one of the strangest, most incoherent classroom experiences of your time at Portland State - or, (for those of the right mind and heart for it), an inspirational, engaging discussion that you will think about for years to come. Every opinion is respected, and no stone is unturned. Especially the ones not on the agenda.

I admire Bob. I took his class a few years ago and it still brings me a lot of joy. I remember sitting in class feeling a little bit like an outcast at Portland State (for what reason i do not know) and Bob made me feel welcome. My ideas, like any of the students, were listened to and I appreciate that. Thank you Bob.

Slowly goes through the learning process of the course, for student benefit. Be aware that very limited tests and one assignment will indeed make each a way bigger deal for your grade. I really like this prof. He is a genuine person.

Really enjoyed classes with this professor. Lectures are interesting, he has a dry sense of humor. Gives good feedback on assignments, really challenges you to push yourself and your thinking further. His classes are structured in a really consistent way that makes it easy to know what you need to do and when. Be prepared to think a lot!