In memoriam: Liz Partolan-Fray

Correction: The address for St. Joseph Catholic Church, where Portolan-Fray's memorial service will take place Friday, was listed as in Lynden. St. Joseph Catholic Church is in Ferndale.

Liz Partolan-Fray, director of Education Abroad in the Institute for Global Engagement, has passed away after a long career at Western Washington University that began more than 35 years ago. First employed in the Multicultural Services Center where she advised international students, students with disabilities, veterans and mature returning students, Liz spent a lifetime advocating for those who were underrepresented at the University. From developing policies to satisfy immigration regulations to teaching a course designed for students who were preparing to study abroad, Liz brought leadership and dedication to Western’s services for international students and study-abroad students.

From 1997 to the present, Liz served as director of International Programs & Exchanges (now Education Abroad). During her tenure, the number of students who study abroad annually has more than doubled and the number of international students who attend Western has grown as well. Over the years she developed a very strong network of colleagues at the University and in international education. She was an outstanding advocate for increasing diversity on campus, having received the Women of Empowerment Award in 2010 and recently had been appointed to the NAFSA: Association of International Educators 2016-2017 Diversity Network Task Force.

Liz was a Fulbright grantee for International Education Administrators to both India and Japan. She served on the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee on Ethnic & Cultural Pluralism, and on the Diversity Achievement Award committee in addition to many other similarly focused committees. Her roles as a trainer and committee chair in NAFSA and with the Northwest Council of Study Abroad gave her a national reputation as a leader who cared about students; her work with colleagues on campus earned her their respect and admiration for a woman whom they saw as a mentor who cared about them as people; her capacity for networking was the envy of those who knew her well. Liz will be deeply missed. She is survived by her husband Shawn, son Matthew, and two daughters, Casimira and Maura.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 12 at St. Joseph Catholic Church at 5781 Hendrickson Ave., Ferndale. A celebration of her life will take place from at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Fox Hall at the Hampton Inn at 1661 W. Bakerview Road, Bellingham. It will be a potluck and people are encouraged to bring multicultural dishes in her honor. Both the service and the celebration are open to all who wish to attend. Finally, a memory book is available in Miller Hall 210, the lobby of the Institute for Global Engagement.

Gifts in memory of Liz Partolan-Fray can be made online at: http://alumni.wwu.edu/inmemoryoflizpartolanfray

Or by check made payable to the WWU Foundation and sent to:

WWU Foundation

516 High Street

Bellingham, WA 98225-9034

*Please indicate on the memo line that your gift is to support Study Abroad in memory of Liz.