By Barbara Leblanc
English Professor Gary Bouchard was wearing tights and a velvet, Elizabethan hat when the biggest challenge of his career came his way.
College President Fr. Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B., was asking: Would Bouchard consider becoming the next executive vice president of the college, second only to the president himself?
"There was a moment of stunned silence," Fr. Jonathan said with a chuckle. "I said, 'You don't have to answer me right away, particularly in that ridiculous outfit.'"
It was Shakespeare's birthday, April 23, 1998, and Bouchard was running his annual sonnet-reading marathon (hence the costume). Two months later—on the anniversary of General Custer's defeat at Little Big Horn, Bouchard notes—he decided to say yes, but only for a limited term.
That term, extended once at Fr. Jonathan's behest, ended July 1 when Bouchard welcomed his replacement, Marie A. George (see related story), and made a happy return to teaching and scholarship. "There is nothing I'd experienced in this job that I haven't read in a Shakespeare play," he said.
Bouchard's task was to implement a five-year plan that had been established by a committee led by his predecessor.
"He shifted the way the college's administration worked," Fr. Jonathan said.
He established the Office of Enrollment Management, built a roster of six vice presidents reporting to his office, and made college advancement a priority. He also created a planning and budget committee to include all vice presidents and a faculty representative.
Bouchard is particularly proud of his part in establishing the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, revamping the college's magazine, and expanding public relations. "I want someone in Reno, Nevada, to be able to pronounce Saint Anselm and know what it means," he said.
Currently on sabbatical to write a book on two Jesuit poets, one from the 16th century and the other from the 19th century, Bouchard looks forward to returning to the teaching that is his true vocation. But he offers fair warning to Saint Anselm freshmen. His time in administration left him more convinced than ever of the need to write well.
"That will cause future freshman composition students to suffer," he said.