Spotlight on Staff: Michael Tapscott

By Jill Lindstrom

Michael Tapscott has never left school. After graduating from D.C.’s Sidwell Friends School—he credits affirmative action programs with making his attendance possible—and Tufts University, the native Washingtonian has spent his 31-year career in higher education administration. “I didn’t want to stop going to college!” he explains.

Since Tapscott joined the University as director of the Multicultural Student Services Center five years ago, he and his staff have raised the center’s profile and made it a significant contributor to campus life. A nominee for a 2008 Service Excellence Award, the center collaborates with a number of University offices and generates a wide range of academic and cultural programs and services for the GW community.

“Our vision is to ensure that all students have the same high-quality university experience and to ensure that every student has ample opportunities to develop the cross-cultural competencies that are critical for new leaders in an increasingly diverse world of work,” he explains.

Q: Which of the center’s activities are you most proud of?
A: I am most proud of the Martin Luther King Jr. Awards—held each January to remember Dr. King and honor those who exemplify his life and legacy—and the block party that we hold during Welcome Week. We want to show new students that GW has a vibrant multicultural campus life and community that is open to everyone—and the block party is one way to do that. By participating in our programs, students can initiate the cross-cultural relationships that provide a broader and more diverse perspective on everything they will learn here.

Q: If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would play the lead role and what would the title be?
A: Denzel Washington. Just look at him and me—the resemblance is striking! Although some people say I look more like Uncle Fester or Tom Joyner. The movie title would be “Living Life with Enthusiasm…Amen!!” Enthusiasm is one of my key, daily life principles.

Q: How would you describe yourself in three words?
A: Enthusiastic, principled, and fun. I believe in a few basic rights and wrongs: fairness, decency, and honesty. I see the world through those principles and try to live my life according to them.

Q: If you could switch to the opposite gender for a week, would you?
A: Yes, I would love to know what it feels like for a woman to get the once-over from a man, how it feels to be underpaid only because you’re a woman—because that ticks me off!—and what it is like to give birth to a child.

Q: Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with?
A: Abraham Lincoln or Langston Hughes. Hughes was an African American poet in the early 20th century who had a gift with words that I think is phenomenal. One of his poems in particular has touched me deeply: “The night is beautiful. So the faces of my people. The stars are beautiful. So the eyes of my people. Beautiful also, is the sun. Beautiful also, are the souls of my people.” Lincoln, because I’m curious about what made him tick. Why was he the first American president to have the moral courage to end slavery?

Q: If you had six months with no obligations or financial constraints, what would you do?
A: I would gather every child of color I could find and enroll them in college. I think the college experience is the greatest four years of growth in every young person’s life and everyone should have that right to learn and grow, because, frankly, virtually everyone can learn and excel when the conditions for learning are right for them.

Q: Do you know any party tricks?
A: I can take a Starburst candy and unwrap it with my teeth in 10 seconds. And I can whistle with my tongue rolled up and raise one eyebrow while winking with the other. That’s kind of impressive!

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu