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advisor and Board member from 1961- 1984. He saw early on that FIS could be an invaluable resource in both fostering international understanding among students, parents and faculty, and in attracting employees of international companies to Frankfurt by providing the highest quality education for their children.
The Stroths
were dedicated
to establishing a culture of openness, understanding,
and opportunity, both economic
and cultural,
which would help Frankfurt thrive and grow.
Hazel’s energies were focused on bringing the growing international community together and on creating a welcoming cultural landscape. She served on the board and as president of many area clubs and cultural organizations, such as the English Theatre, the United States Overseas (USO), the International Women’s Club, and the Cosmopolitan Club. As founder and president of the latter, she inaugurated a scholarship
program for young German women to study at her alma mater, Jamestown University in North Dakota. To date, there have been 30 recipients of these scholarships. The Jamestown Scholarship program had a special significance for Hazel. It not only fostered German-American relations, but Hazel particularly believed in the opportunity it gave young German women to begin an international career.
Hazel was a master of networking before the term even existed. She made the Stroth home the social center of German-American activities for decades. She also was a successful and dedicated journalist, publishing countless articles on fashion and lifestyle in Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, and Hollywood publications, as well as the European edition of the Stars and Stripes. For many years, she was the editor of Commerce Germany, the official publication of the American Chamber of Commerce.
The Stroths’ life-long efforts building bridges of understanding and cooper- ation between Germany and America were officially recognized in 1999 when they were awarded the Federal Medal of Honor (Bundesverdienst- kreuz). Hazel was honored by her alma mater, Jamestown University, with an honorary doctorate in 2003.
The Stroths were both inspired by and helped to inspire the mission of FIS in its early years. The school was a living experiment in bridge-building, not only between Germans and
Americans, but across an increasingly diverse international community. The school pioneered work in interna- tional education and, like the Stroths, in forming a new generation of citi- zens who could think beyond national borders and cultural boundaries. Those shared aspirations and sense of community inspired the Stroths to choose FIS to carry on their life’s work, their devotion to a better world through understanding and cooperation.
FIS is proud and honored to safeguard the Stroths’ legacy and accepts the responsibility their generous gift brings. We will do our utmost to live up to the Stroths’ example.
Vera Thiers
Office of Admissions and Advancement
I would like to thank Jim Fallgatter, the Stroths’ godson, and Mr. Fred Irwin, President of the American Chamber of Commerce for 22 years, and friend of the Stroths for 40, for their contributions to this article.
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