Just outside the campus boundaries of the University of Georgia in Athens, I arrived at his home and was invited into the den where his wife, Gloria, directed me to one of the two chairs at the end of the study. Against a wall of books on Supervision, all of which had check-out cards on which I would write my name so that he and I would both remember where the book belonged, there was a plate of cookies and a pot of coffee…. Always, there was coffee, because Dr. Bruce had much to say and I was eager to listen. Ray Bruce was a public school advocate and he wanted desperately to share conversation about what mattered in effective schools and more directly how the supervision of instruction might support student academic achievement and teacher performance. And, while he was eager to hear what I had to say, I must admit that he terrified me because he was really listening and I knew he had little time for shallow thinking and random conversation. His time with me was important to him, and I was eager to honor that spirit. And every graduate student who ever worked with him would likely echo a similar sentiment.
From his humble beginnings in Arkansas as a high school teacher of science, Ray Bruce was to become a leader among leaders in the Department of Curriculum and Supervision at the University of Georgia. And in those early days of supervision work at UGA, Dr. Bruce influenced two organizations greatly, the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development and the Council of Professors of Instructional Supervision. In fact, many of the COPIS group will remember that the ASCD and COPIS had joint meetings. Those were heady days as the COPIS group met two times a year and the membership made significant contributions to the field. From those early efforts in the 1970s until his death in 2015, COPIS always remained an important part of the Ray Bruce story.
In Professor Bob Anderson’s paper on the early history of COPIS, Dr. Bruce was titled “the eternal mentor” and in this capacity I would suggest that he made ihs most important contributions. From the early days of his supporting “this young scholar named Glickman” to his pattern of bringing large numbers of PhD students from UGA to every COPIS conference, Ray Bruce was a coach and mentor to everyone, at varying levels, but always to the benefit of others. Although his demand for precision in thought and writing was legendary, his caring soul and generous spirit combined to bring forth the Council of Professors of Instructional Supervision. In 2005, as President of COPIS, I enjoyed hosting the annual meeting at the University of Georgia and there, on the front row, was Dr. Bruce. He was present and he was paying attention. More broadly this moment echoes the answer to the question as to what his contribution was to COPIS? In a word, Presence. He was present to others, to the development of COPIS, to students, and to the field. And for Dr. Ray Bruce, there was always time to pause and be present for coffee and cookies so that we could consider supervision. And for his presence, we are all just a little bit better.
Written by Zach Kelehear, Professor and Vice Provost, AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY