2010/11 - Bechtel International Center - Stanford University

Handbook for International Spouses,
Partners and Families
Every year the International Families Office designs, edits
and produces a 28-page publication which serves as a
handbook for international families and also a calendar
to advise them of relevant academic dates and I-Center
programs. The Calendar/Handbook, “2010-2011 at
Stanford”, includes extensive information on community
resources of special interest to this population and
provides answers to their most frequently asked
questions. During the summer of 2011 Susanne Maas
was responsible for editing the new handbook 2010-
2011, a guide for new and returning spouses with lots of
information including the welcome committee member
list.
PROGRAMS
To create programs, we work with spouses to turn their
knowledge and expertise or avocation into a class that
will be both stimulating for them and beneficial to those
who attend the program.
Each program serves multiple purposes simultaneously,
providing a channel for the teacher or leader to develop
her/his expertise, valuable learning experience for
the students, and an opportunity for spouses to form
friendships with others in a similar situation.
In the year 2010-2011, we offered 116 different courses,
classes, workshops and events. They can be classified
as: Orientation programs (the Friday Morning Coffee,
Welcome Reception and Campus tours); workshops
for spouses (Yoga, Beginner’s Art History Class), Crafts
(knitting), Cooking (Basics of French Cooking, Benise
- West African Cooking), Languages (from Arabic to
Russian over 9 different languages), and Childrens’
Groups (Baby and Toddler group, Fun for Kids outing).
Planning
To plan the programs, the Coordinator invites new and
returning volunteers to a special planning meeting held
every quarter. One main source of volunteer recruitment
is the registration form each newcomer is asked to
provide.
Each quarter our program serves hundreds of spouses,
partners and families. The Friday Morning Coffee alone has
around 60 visitors and 30 children each week. The Yoga
class had peak times with over 35 students so the teacher
decided to offer a second class called Postnatal Yoga with
Babies. The Orientation tour to the Career Development
Center in fall interested 25 students; Japanese and
Spanish language classes were also very popular and
the cooking classes were sold out immediately after the
24 Bechtel International Center Annual Report 2010/11
registration forms came out. However, the number of
students is not the only key to success but rather the
diversity of people who find their way to the program.
The classes are a mirror of this colorful life.
Beside these programs, we offered special events, usually
during or after Friday Morning Coffee– a Halloween Party,
a presentation about Thanksgiving, Christmas Cookie
Decoration and celebration of International Women’s day.
The Halloween Party and the International Women’s Day
event attracted more than 100 attendees.
Collaboration with the CCIS
We also collaborated closely with the Community
Committee for International Students (CCIS) on a number
of projects:
The Friday Morning Coffee is assisted by a group of
8 volunteers.
The CCIS Spouse Education Fund offers financial
assistance to enable spouses/partners to pursue
their career and academic interests while in the
Stanford area.
The Professional Liaison Program for International
Spouses.
Collaboration with others at Stanford
The Families Office also collaborated with other Stanford
offices and units in order to introduce spouses and
partners to relevant campus services, and to co-sponsor
programs for the benefit of spouses. For example, the
Office worked with the Career Development Center to
co-sponsor a fall workshop, and took a group to visit the
Career Library there. The Families Office collaborated
with the Graduate Life and Work/Life Offices in
organizing the Spouse/Partner Welcome in September,
and works closely together with the Escondido Village
Community Advisers.