Q&A | A sit down with Bouchard, Chapman’s incoming provost

Norma Bouchard shared her goals and thoughts on the future of the university as Chapman’s incoming provost. Photo courtesy of Bouchard

Six columns of bookshelves sat behind Norma Bouchard, Chapman’s incoming provost who will begin working July 28, flanked by two green ferns. Each was sectioned off into three rows, containing neat stacks of literature. At the center sat Bouchard, sporting a headset, highlighted bangs and cheerful smile. 

That Zoom background in an April 5 call served to emphasize Bouchard’s thoughts on a value we discussed at length: the importance of education. 

Bouchard has served as a dean at both the College of Arts and Letters at San Diego State University, and most recently, the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University. Throughout her conversation with The Panther, she reflected on her hopes as provost in facilitating diversity, equity and inclusion in a university setting, among other topics.

Bouchard’s answers have been lightly edited for clarity and stylistic standards. 

Q: You came to Chapman Feb.14 and 15, that weekend, and talked to a lot of different groups of faculty and students. What were the impressions you took away from the faculty that you presented to and student government, or the university as a whole?

A: This is an institution that is really growing, and not necessarily in size. Of course, it went from a school of 3,500 to 10,000, but it’s going up in the ranking, it’s very student-focused, really believes in the Chapman experience, educating the whole students, student success, retention, graduation, impact practices, co-curricular practices. Very, very important. Very devoted faculty. So I thought that was very important, because of course, without students we have no university, right? 

At the same time, I do think I’ve always been a big believer in the synergy between faculty research and scholarship and creative activity and teaching. I really believe that you’ve got to be at the top of research and your scholarship in order to deliver cutting-edge teaching Because if you don’t, or if you are kind of content with the knowledge creation of others, you’re not going to be able to translate that in the immediate. 

Q: Given Chapman’s complicated recent history with racial issues in particular —  the “The Birth of a Nation” poster debate and the John Eastman saga  — students have really been pushing for institutional change of some kind in terms of diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives. How do you anticipate listening and working with concerns or just general pushes that students are making in that particular avenue? 

A: The pandemic has exposed so much, right, about our culture, our societies, the work that remains unfinished. So, if there is a silver lining in the pandemic — and sometimes I think there is and sometimes I think there isn’t — but it’s to have exposed the fundamental inequities that shape society. 

I do think there isn’t a day, right, that we (don’t) hear about (an event) of these sorts. I mean, to me, these are all teachable moments. What can we do better? Where are we going wrong? We are in a university; there are diverse points of views. The world was very different 20, 30, 50 years ago, right, and we’re here to imagine the future. So I would be very interested in listening to all the students, to the faculty, to the staff, even members of the community. I think we need to come together to really make a difference and have an impact. 

What’s happening at Chapman is no different than what’s happening at so many other institutions. Diversity, equity and inclusion doesn’t stop with hiring two or three diverse faculty or starting to teach more courses in African American history or the literature of the Harlem Renaissance, right. You need to be strategic; you need to be infusive and really tackle diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of the university. 

Q: What do you hope to bring from your general career experience and lived experience to this provost position? 

A: The fall will not be a year like anyone imagined. I think compassion, empathy, support of different sorts is going to be very, very important. I can tell you that I asked all of my department heads (at Drexel) to put together a list of resources — tutoring resources, clubs, everything. Then I also reached out to the students to figure out what we can do to help, because we just don’t know. And Chapman, right, their students come from all over the place. It’s going to take everyone — students, staff, faculty, members of the community — to imagine what is a post-pandemic university. 

Every time in history when there was a pandemic, society changed. Often it changed in better ways. But I think it takes the power of the collective imagination because the future is something that no one can fully predict. 

But I think Chapman is in a very good place. I noticed, also, the love and the pride for the university. I remember somebody took me on a golf cart, and of course I was sitting in the back with my mask because you had to be socially distanced, and just drove me around the different buildings. I couldn’t get into any of them, but I did notice that there was such pride in what the institution has achieved. And so, I certainly look forward to working alongside all of you, which means students too; I’ll be reaching out to all of you frequently and the staff and the faculty to really help imagine the next chapter in the excellence of Chapman. And you have a lot to be proud of. 

Q: I heard that you were interested in trying to recruit more first-generation students. Can you tell me more about that?

A: I am a first-gen myself, so I am the first student, I mean the first person in my family who actually went to high school. So I always joke that I am a double first-gen, because when we think of the first gen, typically it’s a college grad. Well, in my case, it's high school too. And my parents were children of the war, World War II, so fascist Italy — the country, of course — was on the wrong side of the war. Everything had to be rebuilt. So you went to work in factories when you were very young. 

So, to me, education is very important. It’s very empowering, and it’s empowering obviously not only for the individual. It empowers the mind, right. And then the impact that that has on communities — I can tell you that my children never thought of not going to college, right, it was just something that they talked about. But I think first-gen students — they just don’t have the knowledge base at home to know what to do.

I think underrepresented students, underserved students, have additional challenges, right, on top of the first-gen. But I did notice that was something, the university seemed to me very committed. I mean, when I interviewed, it came up, and I was really pleased to see what (Dean of Dodge College of Film and Media Arts Stephen Galloway), I mean the recruitment that he has done. Diversity, equity and inclusion means building pools, recruiting a range of individuals. And it takes effort. It’s not easy. And there are always institutions that have more resources, right, or a bigger name. We just have to try harder. We just never give up. 

Q: Over the past year, administration and faculty have not always particularly seen eye-to-eye, particularly on the issue of being required to return to campus to teach in-person classes. How do you anticipate being an advocate for faculty at Chapman? 

A: I feel very connected with the faculty, and I think that’s very important. At the same time, we do need to think for the bigger institution. Universities are ecosystems; it’s the students, it’s the faculty, it’s the staff, it’s the members of the community, our service, our outreach, our engagement, our alumni of course have to remain connected with us and to whom we provide support. 

I also tend to be a very transparent person. Obviously, there are areas where things have to remain confidential, but I do think that to be forthright and forthcoming and to explain things is very, very important. And I do think that if we explain the reasons why certain decisions are made and also solicit input before making decisions, that’s very, very important. 

Q: How will you approach the university’s work toward a post-pandemic world, after a very strange, disjointed year? 

A: Personally, I think it’s going to be exciting. I’m one of those people who likes change. I wish that (this) change would not have happened the way it happened, by way of a pandemic. But I think this is who we are as human beings; we always change, we evolve, we experiment. The fact that this is propelled by a pandemic that has cost over half a million lives, that was, and it is a huge, huge cost. But, I think the opportunity as well — we learned so much about ourselves, the things that we did wrong, the things that are unsustainable. It’s the worst of times and the best of times, as one of the great poets put it.