Gerald Kauvar has been working with University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg for so long that sometimes he can anticipate what the witty, at times outrageous and always unpredictable president is thinking.
"He backs me up," Trachtenberg said of his special assistant of the last five years and friend of 30 years. "We've known each long enough that he can anticipate what I'm going to think about a certain piece of information."
Kauvar said his job is easy: just help out the president.
"I do my best to make life easier for Steve," he said. "I try to make sure that things are getting done, but I'm not a decision-maker. My role is to help the president make decisions."
Their friendship began when Kauvar was an English professor at the City College of New York. Neither one recalls when and where their first meeting took place, but Kauvar believes that it was at an academic conference. The two stayed in touch over the years, and in 2002 Trachtenberg lured Kauvar away from his job as a senior policy analyst at RAND Corporation.
"One day (Trachtenberg) called me and asked me to come to GW as his special assistant," recalled Kauvar, whose son attended GW and graduated from the Elliott School in 1998. "I told him that I was having a lot of fun at my current job, and he said, 'Well, you'll have more fun here.'"
"He was right," Kauvar said.
In addition to his work in the president's office, Kauvar also teaches an honors class called "Why we like what we like." The class uses Freudian psychoanalysis to better understand why some people like a piece of literature, while others do not.
"If you read 'Macbeth' and you do not have any personal superstitions, you might not be able to relate to 'Macbeth' and his superstitions," Kauvar said. "You might not like the play, even if you understand why it's considered a great work."
Outside of the University, Kauvar has worked with Trachtenberg to oversee the accreditation process at New School and establish a task force on a national service program for college students. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the United Way of the D.C. area, having been recommended for a spot by Trachtenberg five years ago.
"He backs me up," Trachtenberg said of his special assistant of the last five years and friend of 30 years. "We've known each long enough that he can anticipate what I'm going to think about a certain piece of information."
Kauvar said his job is easy: just help out the president.
"I do my best to make life easier for Steve," he said. "I try to make sure that things are getting done, but I'm not a decision-maker. My role is to help the president make decisions."
Their friendship began when Kauvar was an English professor at the City College of New York. Neither one recalls when and where their first meeting took place, but Kauvar believes that it was at an academic conference. The two stayed in touch over the years, and in 2002 Trachtenberg lured Kauvar away from his job as a senior policy analyst at RAND Corporation.
"One day (Trachtenberg) called me and asked me to come to GW as his special assistant," recalled Kauvar, whose son attended GW and graduated from the Elliott School in 1998. "I told him that I was having a lot of fun at my current job, and he said, 'Well, you'll have more fun here.'"
"He was right," Kauvar said.
In addition to his work in the president's office, Kauvar also teaches an honors class called "Why we like what we like." The class uses Freudian psychoanalysis to better understand why some people like a piece of literature, while others do not.
"If you read 'Macbeth' and you do not have any personal superstitions, you might not be able to relate to 'Macbeth' and his superstitions," Kauvar said. "You might not like the play, even if you understand why it's considered a great work."
Outside of the University, Kauvar has worked with Trachtenberg to oversee the accreditation process at New School and establish a task force on a national service program for college students. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the United Way of the D.C. area, having been recommended for a spot by Trachtenberg five years ago.
