USD Magazine, Summer 1992

In 1991, Boyce completed an eight-year term as Lieutenant of the Western Region of the Order. He says his involvement with the Holy Sepulchre has led to three of the most significant experiences of his life: meeting the pope and making two pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The photos of Boyce's visit with the pope are displayed prominently in his office. Pointing to the photo of her boss shaking hands with the pope, Barbara Walsh, Boyce's exec– utive assistant for the past 12 years, laughs. "We tell Jack that in this picture it's hard to tell which one is the pope." Boyce does

become. And I felt very comfortable at a Catholic university."

hat sense of humor, com– bined with an easygoing

style and Irish charm, has served Boyce well as the supervisor of eight of the most visible and vital departments on campus: Physical Plant, Human Resources, the Book– store, the Mail Center, Accounting, Administrative Data Processing and Public Safety. His popularity with his employ– ees was evident in 1989 when the Staff Employees Association hon– ored Boyce with its Administrator of the Year Award-that plaque hangs in his office. "There's noth– ing more satisfying than being rec– ognized by the people who work for you," Boyce says. Explaining his friend's appeal, Father O'Leary quips, "Jack could tell you to go to hell, and you would look forward to the trip." The flip side of the Boyce charm is the Boyce temper. "You can only push him so far, then you get his Irish up," Walsh says. "That really only happens when he's working with developers or architects who want to propose contract changes. Then you see his temper."

oyce's Catholic roots go back to his childhood in

Bayside, N.Y., where he lived in a tight-knit community of Irish and Italian Catholics whose lives cen– tered around the Sacred Heart Church. His devotion to the church was fostered by a mother who attended Mass daily and a father who went out of his way to help others.

Boyce's experience with the Christian Brothers in high school and at Man– hattan College also left an indelible mark on him. "The Christian Brothers taught me two very impor– tant things-the value of earnest, dis– ciplined study, and the importance of loyalty," he says. His loyalty to the Catholic Church has

have a priestly quality to him, and it's no won– der-he had an uncle and brother who were priests, and his two sis– ters became nuns (one has since left the

Jack Boyce

religious life and married). He gave some thought to becoming a priest in his younger years, but decided it wasn't right for him. Walsh says she teases her boss about being so holy. "He just laughs and says, 'holey socks-that's me."'

never wavered, and in 1972 that loyalty was recognized by the late San Diego Bishop Leo T. Maher when he invited Boyce to join the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, a Catholic group that raises funds for the medical, educational and social needs of Arab Christians in the Holy Land.

• Approved establishment of the Staff Employees Associa– tion and the employee benefit program.

• Financing and negotiations for purchase of the Diocesan Building for the USD campus.

• Purchase of the university trams.

Hahn University Center

~

USO MAGAZINE

.

a1'

L

--

_..~