Foundation & Development

Francis & Peggy Davern International Scholarship Peggy Davern

Many international students who attended Western Illinois University between 1970 and 1987 will remember Peggy Davern, the face of International Programs at WIU during that period. Hired in 1970 as the Foreign Student Advisor, Peggy was the Director of International Student Affairs by the time she retired 16 years later. During that time, she was the face (if not the heart and soul) of international student programs at WIU and the anchor for all the students who studied here during those years.

“The diversity of the job was very exciting to me. I used to say that I learned more from the international students than they did from WIU,” says Peggy today. “Although my husband and I had traveled extensively, many of these students came from diverse countries, so it was an educational situation for me, too. I loved being their advisor!”

Peggy’s duties were as varied as the student’s origins. Immigration visas, orientation to the program, housing, transportation from Chicago, and social activities were just some of the areas in which Peggy became the local expert. From the students’ perspective, she was the one strong link to their education at Western, the one who could calm their fears and help with the overwhelming minutiae of detail involved in international study.

International students during those years were predominately from Nigeria, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Turkey. For the students, Peggy was the difference between a frightening ordeal and a warm, welcome stay. Not only did she provide service from her office, she welcomed students into her home, entertained them, and socialized with them. Her husband, Francis, and children Tim and Cathy, participated in all the activities.

Davern retired in 1987, one year following her husband, Francis, professor of elementary education and reading, and one of WIU’s most popular professors. The couple’s first year of shared retirement was spent teaching at Southwest China Teachers’ University in Beibei, Sichuan. This assignment was at the invitation of Western’s first student from main land China, Wang, Changkai, then Vice President of the institution. Wang had earned his master’s degree at WIU and worked extensively with Peggy. “That year was one of the best things to ever happen to me,” said Peggy.

The Davern’s daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and Guy Gronquist, established the Francis and Peggy Davern International Scholarship upon Peggy’s retirement. “For my parents, teaching was a total commitment,” said Kathy. “Even when my Mother started to work for the International Programs area at WIU as a Foreign Student Advisor, she continued to teach – but this time it was with International students from many, many countries as they settled in the US. Our house was always full of people from all over the world and there was never a dull moment at our Murray Street home. When they both finally retired, it seemed very obvious to my husband and me that an International Scholarship was the perfect way to honor careers and lifetimes dedicated to teaching and international friendship.”

Donations are now being sought to endow the scholarship in perpetuity in honor of Peggy and Francis. Contributions can be sent to: WIU Foundation, 303 Sherman Hall, WIU, Macomb, IL 61455; or be made online at www.wiu.edu/giving (includes credit card option for international transactions).

“I always worry about the students’ being able to afford books, as the prices keep going ‘up and up.’ What I am realizing now is that our award needs some monetary input to keep it going and to be of help to the international students who come to Western,” said Peggy.

Contributions for the Francis and Peggy Davern International Scholarship can be sent to the WIU Foundation, 303 Sherman Hall, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455. Online donations are accepted at www.wiu.giving.

“One thing I do know,” claims Peggy, “being a Foreign Student Advisor is the best thing that ever happened to me. I could hardly wait to get to work each morning, and if we were working on something important, I never hesitated to stay late to finish a project. I was always very proud of “MY” students and very fond of them.”

Peggy, age 85, lives in a retirement community in Tempe, Arizona. Francis died in 1999. Guy & Cathy Gronquist live in New Mexico; their two daughters attend universities in the east. Fr. Tim Davern lives and works in Gilbert, AZ.

# # #