Turkey, Iraq, Spain, West Africa, Micronesia, South Dakota and Nebraska; the Rev. Raymond A. Bucko, S.J., has seen it all.

It is apparent as soon as one walks into his apartment in Kenefick Hall. The walls are covered with paintings, artifacts and photos. The furnishings are exquisite – his apartment is a trip around the world without the traveling. And it makes sense. Bucko, the chair of the anthropology department, enjoys traveling and experiencing other cultures as much as he can.

As a cultural anthropologist Bucko said he is fascinated by the behaviors of all people.

“I think I was born this way,” Bucko said. “I grew up in a town that had clear ethnic differences and I was always interested in the differences and the similarities, and so I just grew up paying attention to that.”

Bucko said he briefly considered archaeology, but as he was entering graduate school he chose a different path after he realized he cared more for what people were thinking than what was beneath the ground. His main area of study has been the Lakota people.

“You can only write one dissertation, so your life’s work is really the group you work on when you’re studying because then after that you have to go to work and teach so you never have the time again to be with the people like you did,” he said.

Bucko said it was partly his connection to the Lakota people that brought him to Creighton.

“Given the work I do and the types of interests I have, it’s like being in the center of the world,” Bucko said. “Why would anyone go to New York or Los Angeles when it’s all happening here?”

According to Bucko, Creighton is one of the only Jesuit schools in the world with a Native Studies program.

The Native Studies program is not the only aspect of Creighton Bucko loves, however. Six years after arriving at Creighton he moved into his apartment in Kenefick Hall.

“I have a beautiful room. It’s not as nice as John Schlegel’s – I call it ‘Schlegel Light.’ It’s one-third less administration,” he said. “I like coming home and seeing someone at the front desk say hello and ask how I am. I like talking to people in the elevators. I like talking to the smokers, and I know the smokers the best because they’re always outside.”

Bucko said the interaction he has with students outside of class is almost as valuable as classroom time.

“It’s a Creighton resource. It’s one that’s equally, well it’s not as important as a class, but you can learn a lot interacting with other students and interacting with professors,” Bucko said. “Sometimes I’ll bring other faculty over and that’s something you’re not going to get at a school where you just come for classes.”

Bucko arrived on campus 10 years ago. Tami Buffalohead-McGill, director of the educational opportunities program, was one of his first connections at Creighton. She attended a presentation Bucko gave on campus and said she knew he would be a great addition.

“Over time, he has become quite close, basically a family member,” Buffalohead-McGill said. “He is brilliant and amazing. He is good with students, very approachable.”

Andrew Bakke, Arts & Sciences junior and former Kenefick resident, experienced Bucko’s approachability first-hand last year.

“Father Bucko made it feel like there was someone I could go and talk to no matter what, which was really great because sometimes in college you don’t have that,” Bakke said.

Bucko also makes things happen at Creighton, even if it seems like it is impossible. He makes the most of time, money and resources to pull events together, according to Buffalohead-McGill. “He is always right there pitching in,” she said.

Bucko is quick to point out, however, that all his achievements are really Creighton’s achievements and that he would not be able to do everything he does without the support of an institution like Creighton.

Bucko also has a talent for technology and said he lends his talents to many different organizations all over the country.

Along with teaching anthropology courses at Creighton, Bucko teaches in South Dakota at a school that trains people who are going to work on reservations and at a school in Vancouver that trains native ministers. He also works with the AIDS and anthropology group and much more.

“I [had] this Plains Indian class [last semester] and the last thing [they read was] someone’s doctoral dissertation, because what I’m trying to do is not just stand there and say ‘oh well let me tell you everything about the Plains Indians’ but let’s look at how people understand the Plains Indians and from that let’s look at and understand how people do research and formulate ideas and classify,” Bucko said.

Bucko is a true renaissance man, according to Buffalohead-McGill. His approachability, involvement and personality are what set

Bucko apart.

The contributions he makes to the Creighton community are invaluable. Through teaching, mentoring and just talking to students, Bucko provides unique and irreplaceable opportunities to the Creighton community.