Raymond Cormier delivers Baccalaureate Address - Commencement '04 [full-text]

Dr. Raymond J. Cormier is a Renaissance man who has devoted his professional life to studying the Medieval period and its antique roots, as well as modern-day survivals.

Dr. Cormier - affectionately called "the First Gent" by his wife, the President - is a scholar in languages and literature. "My specialty is Medieval comparative literature, and my sub-specialty is French, Latin, and Celtic languages," he said. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Bridgeport, a master's from Stanford University, and a doctorate from Harvard University, as well as a D.Litt. (Honorary) from the University of Bridgeport.

He has taught French at Harvard, Tufts, Virginia, and Temple universities and Wilson College. At Temple, where he taught for 12 years, he chaired the French and Italian Department from 1973 to 1975. He was a full professor there and at Wilson College, where he taught for 10 years. He has also taught, on an adjunct or visiting basis, at Gettysburg College, Dickinson College, and Dartmouth College. He serves as visiting professor in Longwood's English, Philosophy and Modern Languages Department, where he teaches World Literature, French, and most recently a new course in Medieval Celtic literature. In the future, he will team teach a medieval-history-through-film course.

Dr. Cormier has published seven books and more than 100 articles. His scholarly activities have taken him around the globe - England, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Spain, and Switzerland. Like his wife, he is of Canadian French ancestry and was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and grew up nearby (he in Fairfield; she in Stratford). They met at a high school football game when both were sophomores. "I was a cheerleader at Fairfield Prep, and she came with friends from Lauralton Hall," he recalled. They were married seven years later. They have a son, Jean-Louis, who is a management information specialist with a Boston law firm, and a daughter, Madelaine, an entrepreneur in West Palm Beach, Florida, who was married in Farmville in 1997.

Asked about his role as the president's spouse, he said, "I am here to support the President. I am also continuing my research and my productivity as a scholar-teacher, but I am trying to do what I have to do to make her administration successful, to put Longwood at the forefront. My ultimate goals are the same as hers."