As narrator of his life’s story, Gary Wright is keen to showcase other characters. He describes himself as a sum of those he’s known, loved, worked with, and learned from. Any successes—personal or professional—he demurs, reflect the fortunes of fate. His part has simply been to stay curious, purposeful, and open to what comes.
Wright’s graciousness will sound familiar to those in the American University community. Throughout his 28-year career at AU, he served the university’s mission across roles in what is currently the Division of Student Affairs before retiring in 2007 as Assistant Vice President of Campus Life.
On a bright June day, Wright is back on campus at a table in the Bridge café.
All around him are testaments to his stewarding of student diversity and thriving. The robust suite of student services; posters from dedicated multicultural student organizations. Even construction of the Butler Pavilion and tunnel—the current site of the café—was witnessed by his tenure at AU.
Wright’s philanthropy at AU has been similarly profound. Four endowed funds—the Barbara Bohn Wright Memorial Scholarship, Gary R. Weaver Memorial Practicum, Stephen C. Grebe Memorial Scholarship, and R. Bruce Poynter Endowment for the Kay Spiritual Life Center, named in honor of Wright’s late wife and colleagues—have provided vital support for hundreds of Eagles, defraying the costs of tuition, books, and experiential learning opportunities.
With history-making generosity, Wright has recently bequeathed a landmark estate gift to the Barbara Bohn Wright scholarship. It marks the largest scholarship gift to AU to date and comes on the heels of another historic bequest for student support. Wright’s investment ensures growing cohorts of Bohn Wright Scholars will be part of the AU community for generations.
When asked about his leadership and philanthropy at AU, Wright cites two works by Canadian journalist Malcom Gladwell—The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference and Outliers: The Story of Success. In both, Gladwell endorses the power of defining moments and community influence.
“[Those books] are the whole trajectory of my life,” says Wright. Like the successful achievers in Outliers, Wright describes the environmental variables, social bonds, and institutions that have challenged his worldview and strengthened his resolve. Sails turned by tipping points to the next port as a result.
Wright is ready with examples, many of which spotlight his penchant for global learning. A chance high school exchange program brought him to Germany as a teenager—on an administrator’s condition that he also run for student government to build public speaking skills along the way. Years later, repeat multicultural education programs took Wright to Thailand and surrounding countries against the backdrop of the Vietnam War.
Even his journey to AU is tinged with kismet.
In 1979, a chance reconnection with a Maryland school psychologist named Barbara “Barb” Bohn—an ex-girlfriend and colleague from their graduate school days at Michigan State University—brought Wright to Washington, DC, in search of a public school teaching job.
While giving Wright a lift downtown, Bohn Wright stopped at AU in case university staff might have any leads. Wright inquired without luck and told Bohn Wright he was ready to leave.
“When I came back, she was sitting on the quad,” Wright recalls. “I said, ‘Well, let’s go. There’s nothing there.’”
“‘Sit down here a second,’” countered Bohn Wright. “‘Why don’t you listen and look around? If I know you, this is your environment. You’ve spent your life [working with students] in a diverse environment. Maybe you could get a job at a university?’”
Heeding her counsel, Wright returned to the office to discover a vacancy for Special Assistant to the Vice President of Campus Life. The role had a focus on multicultural affairs and—as fate would have it—was closing that very weekend.
Wright had found his next tipping point.
Throughout the ’79-’80 academic year, Wright threw himself into the student experience at AU. He wanted to hear directly from Eagles about the issues they were concerned about and how to cultivate a sense of belonging for the entire campus.
Wright’s efforts drew notice. His thoughtful initiatives to foster religious and racial dialogues impressed AU leaders including vice provost for student life and university chaplain Bruce Poynter and School of International Service professor Gary Weaver—two men whose mentorship and friendship Wright would later memorialize in philanthropic funds at AU.
Over the following decades, Wright left a lasting mark on the AU administration. He held positions in the then-International Student and Scholar Services office, implemented multicultural programming in residence halls, and taught a long-running class on intercultural communication. Wherever Wright went, so did his clear-eyed focus on student wellbeing.
Throughout it all, Wright treasured Bohn Wright’s formidable spirit and companionship. Following the fateful day on AU’s campus, the couple married in July 1980 and spent cherished years together until Bohn Wright’s passing in 1996.
“When she passed, I wanted to do something to commemorate her memory. It had to be something beneficial to students,” says Wright.
Wright established the Barbara Bohn Wright Memorial Scholarship in 1998. The scholarship’s provision for student book support has touched the lives of many Eagles over the years. Now, through further expansion and the transformative investment, the fund’s flexibility will cover additional student needs such as participation in alternative break programs, access to information through digital subscriptions, tuition, and more.
Gary has helped make AU a home for all students, and a home is forever.
“I know she would be very pleased,” Wright says about the fund’s expansion, “because she knew the importance of interaction with people” across communities and cultures.
Wright returns to the theme of happenchance. “I just feel fortunate in life,” he emphasizes.
Yet, while events in Wright’s story might be circumstantial, his legacy at AU is anything but. Through his leadership, service, and dedicated support of students and faculty, Wright models the consummate Eagle spirit.
Courtney Surls, former Vice President of University Advancement, puts it best.
“Gary is many things to many people. He continues to inspire us all to be AU community members who act with conviction and nurture our curiosity about the world around us,” says Surls. “Gary has helped make AU a home for all students, and a home is forever.”
