Joseph Dupont is like the Ellis Island of U-M.
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Every year, all of the University’s 1,000 new international students must check in at one of the campus’ two International Center offices before they start classes. At some point during the academic year, Dupont sees the great majority of them in his Central Campus office.
“Some of them may come straight from the airport with their bags in hand,” said Dupont, the receptionist at the International Center’s office on Central Campus. “I am often the first university official that international visitors meet.”
Without leaving his office, Dupont meets students from almost every country represented at U-M. Many have never visited the United States, much less lived here. Dupont is someone who helps them navigate their way through the often bewildering process of total immersion into American life and culture.
The International Center ensures that students and scholars maintain correct visa status and answers a variety of questions about working, studying and traveling around campus, Ann Arbor, the United States and worldwide.
Many simple questions can be answered at the front desk, but Dupont makes sure to direct students and scholars to the appropriate expert for more complicated ones. He says more questions have come up since changes in federal rules for individuals visiting from other countries, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the introduction of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) in February 2003.
“More and more, our service relates to visas and immigration,” he says. “The consequence of giving incorrect information can be enormous. For that reason, I have to be careful to know what I don’t know.”
Dupont has been welcoming international visitors to the University since 1998. Prior to coming to the International Center, Dupont lived in San Francisco and moved to Michigan to be closer to his wife Lonnie’s family.
Sometimes the office is inundated with visitors and phone calls, but Dupont tries his best to keep up. Dupont says he has to bring a lot of energy and passion to his job.
“My role is to determine as quickly as possible what assistance they need and and then point them in the right direction” he says.
Dupont’s only regret is that he never took advantage of study abroad opportunities as an undergraduate student at SUNY Albany. “So far the only countries that I have visited are Mexico and Canada. But until the day that Lonnie and I can finally embark on the worldwide tour that that we dream about, the world comes to me.
“I can’t think of a better opportunity to meet people from all over the world, short of working at the United Nations.”
