Ronald Goularte is the longest-serving instructor at De Anza College. He began teaching business law 41 years ago at the recently opened campus.

An attorney with a juris doctorate from Golden Gate University School of Law and a private practice, Goularte joined De Anza faculty in 1972 as a part-time instructor after his economics professor at Foothill College suggested he teach law at De Anza.

“De Anza was growing that time and no professor was yet hired to teach business law,” Goularte said. “So I decided to give back to my school.”

De Anza had opened five years before he started working.

“I have seen a lot of changes here at the college, changes in curricula, facilities, programs, in everything,” Goularte said. “I have seen every job on this campus filled and refilled numerous times, from the president all the way to the maintenance workers. All was good growth.”

Many of his students have gone to law schools and some still keep in touch with him. One of them became the youngest licensed real estate agent in California at age 18.

Goularte draws upon anecdotes from his past to reinforce his teaching.

“He uses his real experiences from cases that he has done as a lawyer,” said Doreen Chun, 18, majoring in biology. “It helps us with concepts that we learn in class. His stories are often not ordinary, and that makes it easier to remember certain facts and concepts.”

Besides teaching law, Goularte started offering free legal counseling to students in 1979.

“Students often would come to me after class with numerous legal questions, so their questions gave birth to the idea to establish free legal counseling,” Goularte said.

Goularte devotes one hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays to consult students on legal issues with traffic tickets, problems with employers and landlords. He gives referrals to free legal aid agencies in other areas, including immigration, taxes and criminal law.

He credits flexibility for his long career at De Anza.

“You just have to be conscientious, ethical, keep up with changes and keep growing with the college system,” Goularte said. “Also, I was fortunate to have good health.”