Bouley provides peace
Thirty years of keeping peace around the world and three years of fighting the drug war in South America give Dr. Eugene Bouley, Jr., unique insights into the field of criminal justice.
Dr. Bouley, associate professor of criminal justice and criminal justice coordinator, came to Georgia College & State University in 1995, after a long career in the Army. He served in the military police at several outposts around the world. He also served as Chief of Law Enforcement
Operations at Fort Knox, as Army attache in Argentina and as defense attache to Colombia. His extensive travels in the Army have also taken him to such diverse places around the world as Korea, Vietnam and Italy, in addition to many places around the United States.
He has published numerous articles on criminal justice, the drug war and the corrections system.
It was during his time in Colombia in the late 1980s that he became involved in the war on drugs.
“When I went to Colombia I was the defense attache and midway through, the Medellin drug cartel assassinated the man who would have been president of Colombia,” he said. “President George Bush decided to spend $65 million in Colombia to fight the drug war, and I was involved in that. That became one of my priority missions. We were involved in drug interdiction on the seas, in the air, on the ground, and I was deeply involved in it. We were collecting intelligence on what the drug cartels were doing, interdicting ships at sea through the Coast Guard, through the Navy, etc., so I really got involved in the drug war. When I finished in Colombia I went back to Washington, to the Pentagon and worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency as the Defense Intelligence Agency Counter-Narcotics Coordinator. I was responsible for the Western hemisphere, and it was interesting to see that as a result of our efforts in the Caribbean, that’s why all the drugs are coming up through Mexico. We closed up the Caribbean.”
He said the war on drugs is leading to governmental policies he does not agree with.
“The drug war is not a crime problem, the drug war is a medical problem,” he said. “People are addicted to drugs. It’s not like when you steal. You go steal a watch and it’s over with. The drugs, you’ve got to have them all the time. As long as there is a demand, and as long as we don’t treat our drug addicts and make medical care available, the demand is going to be out there. You can try to stop the supply, but it’s not going to work. It’s the same way you saw in Prohibition. I’m not for the legalization of drugs. I’m not saying make cocaine, heroin, all that stuff legal. What I am saying is you don’t want all that coming through our waters, but on the other hand, you’ve got to treat the addicts that we have out there, and you’ve got to realize there’s always going to be addicts. You can’t stop it.”
Dr. Bouley’s long and winding road to GC&SU began as a teenager.
“I had wanted to teach basically since I was in high school,” he said. “I was originally going to be a mathematics professor. When I went into the Army, I went into the Military Police Corps. I worked law enforcement, I worked corrections, I worked training, I worked with foreign police agencies, I worked with U.S. federal, state, and local police agencies. I decided that I had done enough things that I thought I could be of some value to the young people coming up who were interested in going into criminal justice. So I decided that’s what I would like to teach. This especially came to light when the Army sent me for my Master’s Degree, and I really enjoyed it. I thought since I’ve got a master’s, I might as well go get a Ph.D. I decided I wanted to go to a teaching university. I didn’t want to go to a research university where you end up doing so much research that you don’t see any students. GC&SU was one of three that offered me a job. I came here and I was impressed with the place.”
Senior Blaine Sigety has known Bouley for three and a half years as student and as a advisee. She has also collaborated with him on research studies.
“I have written a research article with Dr. Bouley, ‘Sheriff’s Departments in Georgia: A Statewide Survey.’ I am also working with Dr. Bouley and Dr. Wells on a research grant dealing with Project Safe Neighborhoods. I am graduating in May, and I plan on returning for a master’s degree in Criminal Justice, working as a graduate assistant for Dr. Bouley on the Project Safe Neighborhoods grant,” she said
She went on to mention what kind of a person, Bouley is.
“Dr. Bouley is very personable,” she said. “He will help anyone with whatever they need in any way he can. I really like the way he teaches, because he lets you know exactly what he expects up front. From there it is up to the student to follow his guidelines. If anyone has any questions about what it is that he expects, he will tell exactly what he is looking for.
I have learned a lot from Dr. Bouley and it has stuck with me, not like the information you learn in some classes where you learn it for the test and then forget it. I enjoyed his classes because he puts personality in them. He tries to get class involvement by asking questions and adding jokes or stories. I feel like he is a professor that I can go to with anything, questions about class or life.”
Dr. Terry Wells, assistant professor of criminal justice, went to school with Bouley at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He’s known Bouley for over 10 years.
“The things I like about him are his dedication to his profession, his attention to detail and his concern for students,” Wells said. “His teaching style is one which involves the students in the process and he utilizes technology to enhance their learning experience. Gene brings to Georgia College a wealth of experience due to his military career and his travels. I consider Gene to be a true friend and valuable colleague.”
Dr. Larry Elowitz, Carl Vinson professor of political science and public administration, is another colleague with an appreciation for the expertise Bouley brings to GC&SU.
“I have known Dr. Bouley for over five years as both a departmental colleague and friend,” Elowitz said. “He has a great sense of humor and is considerate of both students and peers alike. He is an excellent teacher in all aspects of the process. He cares about his teaching and takes great pains to make his criminal justice classes as interesting, timely and challenging as possible for students. He is also one of the most knowledgeable faculty members at GC&SU regarding computer-directed research, analysis and evaluation techniques, including WebCT instruction. He genuinely cares about his students, and that concern clearly shows in daily conversations and in his instructional goals. In short, Dr. Bouley is a consummate professional and an asset to the GC&SU community.”
Bouley said the thing that attracted him to teaching was the excitement of seeing students who know very little about a subject and watching them grow.
“That’s the thrill of it, being able to transfer your experiences and make the book learning real and realize what it’s all about,” he said. “I see them come in as freshman or sophomores. I’ve got students I’ve had from my introductory course in criminal justice. Now they’re coming into the master’s program and to watch them understand and see their eyes light up. It makes it fun to come to work.”
For his assignments in South America, Bouley became fluent in Spanish. He has also had the privilege of experiencing many exciting places in his travels.
“I climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa,” he said. “I rode across the Panama Canal. I’ve been to Buenos Aires, where Juan Peron was. I’ve seen Eva Peron’s grave. I’ve done all these incredible things.”
Often this kind of itinerant life can be very difficult, but in his case it was quite the opposite.
“My wife loved it as much as I did,” he said. “That’s what made it easy. We both enjoyed moving, because we never spent more than three years in any one place. In fact, other than when I was a child, this is the longest I’ve lived anywhere as an adult.”
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Apr 4 2003. Filed under News.
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