Why I Give: The Duffy Family
Anne & John Duffy
NYSID alumna Anne Duffy ’92 (BFA) passed away in February 2023 at the age of 81, after a life filled with love, adventure, and beauty. Her twin passions were design and international travel. Her husband, John Duffy, is honoring his wife’s memory by executing a plan they made together to give back to her alma mater. The family has donated a million dollars to establish the Anne K. Duffy Travel Fund, which will provide scholarships and travel grants that enable NYSID students to travel to Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The fund will support tuition and travel grants for NYSID’s two-week study abroad courses to non-European destinations; instructor-led trips to design fairs abroad; and independent study in the form of the Anne K. Duffy Travel Prize. The first rounds of Duffy Study Abroad Grants were allocated to students on NYSID’s winter trip to India and spring trip to Mexico. John Duffy and his daughter, Hilary Duffy, sit down with Atelier’s editors to discuss what this legacy means to the family.
How did this gift come about? What motivated you to give it?
John Duffy: Our children are well taken care of. I wanted to share some of our resources with other people who might have less. When Anne and I were young, neither of us could afford to travel to far-flung places. Later in our lives, Anne and I visited India, China, Burma, Vietnam, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and many parts of Latin America. Morocco was a highlight of our life. Exploring these roads less traveled ripped me out of my own experience and deepened and broadened my understanding of the world. This kind of educational experience, through a school like NYSID, seemed to be the greatest gift we could give.
Hilary Duffy: My parents understood that travel widens your perspective on other points of view, not just in terms of design, but also in terms of economic and societal perspectives. It creates a more open-minded and adaptive individual. And it alters the way designers and artists see, and therefore, create.
Why did you choose to concentrate your support on grants, scholarships, and awards for non-European travel?
JD: All travel is eye-opening, but the opportunity to travel to Asia, Africa, and Latin America from the United States is not something everyone gets to do in a lifetime. It’s rare to have the time and means, unless you are in the military or a profession that takes you abroad. You learn more from immersing yourself in cultures and attitudes that are very different from your own. Anne and I were interested in giving students something that might have been out of their reach and helping them to become more well-rounded people.
Can you tell me about Anne’s experience as a student at NYSID?
HD: Mom was passionate about NYSID because she went back to school in her ’40s after being a stay-at-home mother. It was her opportunity to thrive in a field she loved, and Dad pushed her. She had friends who were 15 years her junior at NYSID, but they valued her because she brought maturity and firsthand experience of design. She was a collector of art and antiques, and she knew a lot about the field. NYSID gave her a renewed sense of purpose and an academic goal she was determined to achieve. She delighted in forming bonds with fellow students and teaching artists like Bill (William) Engel. The knowledge she obtained from her favorite lighting class amazed us.
What’s your favorite memory of Anne traveling?
JD: There are so many.
HD: Dad is a wonderful photographer, and there is an image he took of Mom trying on hats she was buying from women artisans in northern Vietnam. Whether she was in the hills of Vietnam or talking to weavers in Peru, Mom would communicate with local women about their traditional ways of making. So, I love this image.
What advice do you think Anne would give to our students?
JD: I think she would say to go someplace new every time you travel to increase your knowledge. Exposure to other cultures makes minds broader and people bigger.
To inquire about donating to the foley&cox Endowed Scholarship Fund, reach out to giving@nysid.edu.