Dukes honored for service, dedication to international families
Gwyneth Dukes, adviser to international families at the Bechtel International Center, received the Fidler Award.
BY MICHAEL PEÑA
Gwyneth Dukes, adviser to international families at the Bechtel International Center, received the Margaret Ann Fidler Award for Distinguished Service in Student Affairs on Tuesday. The award was presented by Greg Boardman, associate vice provost and dean of student affairs, at the conclusion of the monthly student affairs divisional staff meeting in Tresidder Union's Oak Lounge.
The award recognizes individuals who demonstrate extraordinary integrity, dedication to student affairs and the mission of the university, and commitment to teamwork. Fidler, a former associate vice provost for student affairs who retired in 2001, was the first recipient of the award. She was on hand Tuesday to help present the award.
"I feel really fortunate to have been able to work with people from all over world," said Dukes, who commonly goes by Gwyn. "We want it to be a place where everyone will feel at home, no matter what country you're from."
She added that being surrounded by international families and their perspectives "keeps you intellectually alive." While earning a master's degree at Columbia University in counseling and student personnel work in higher education, she lived and worked at the university's international house. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
Dukes has worked at Stanford for 41 years, first as director of the Old Union women's residence hall. In 1964, she came to the I-Center to plan programs and offer general advising services to international students. She left the university after the birth of her son in 1970 but returned three years later and began serving international families.
Most of them were, and still are, the spouses or partners of visiting faculty and scholars, but also of international students and postdocs. Dukes recruited these spouses to lead classes and other activities during the daytime, when their loved ones were at school or work. Nowadays, she organizes about 30 programs per quarter, most of which include a small fee.
The classes range from language courses to reading and conversational groups to local excursions. This spring's outings include a guided tour at San Francisco's Palace of the Legion of Honor and a hike through a Japanese garden in Saratoga. About a dozen volunteers teach English classes during the week, while native speakers teach various levels of German, Spanish and French this quarter.
Dukes, who works part time, also runs the Resource Center for International Families, which is staffed with international family members who have experience in making the cultural transition and act as peer advisers for the next batch of spouses and significant others from abroad.
Other services include a professional liaison program that pairs international spouses with someone local who has similar career interests; a modest grant program; and a small library at the resource center that includes material that family members can reference if they want to find childcare, travel around the region, search for a job or continue their college education.
"A lot of them have found jobs; some of them are working on campus," Dukes said. "Some of them are working on getting their own degrees at other campuses."
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