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Woodrow Wilson Fellows: A love story

The Honorable Jerome Frese, left, and Dr. Dolores Frese, both WF ’58, stand with Notre Dame President, Rev. John I. Jenkins.
As far as WW is concerned, the Honorable Jerome Frese and Dr. Dolores Frese (both WF ’58) have won Valentine’s Day. While they aren’t the only married Woodrow Wilson Fellows, they’ve been Fellows—and man and wife—for 57 years.
“The Woodrow Wilson Foundation launched our family,” says Judge Frese.
In 1958, the recently engaged couple both applied for and received Woodrow Wilson Fellowships and went on to pursue their graduate degrees at the University of Iowa. After their Ph.D. work, Jerome chose to pursue a law career and eventually became a St. Joseph County (IN) Superior Court Judge, while Dolores taught medieval literature and Chaucer at the University of Notre Dame for more than 40 years.
“It has really been a very, very interesting life,” says Dr. Frese. “So you can see why I say that the Woodrow Wilson Foundation means everything to us.”
Look for a fuller profile of Judge Frese and Dr. Frese in the next issue of Fellowship, the Woodrow Wilson newsletter, this spring—and in the meantime, happy Valentine’s Day to the Freses and to everyone!