Gene and Mary Dubois have been married for 34 years. Gene, an associate professor in Spanish since 1986, and Maria, a lecturer in Spanish since 1993, can be found in their shared office in Merrifield 310.

Gene and Maria met when Gene was a graduate student at the University of California Riverside. During graduate school, Gene shared an office with Maria’s sister. Maria came to visit from New York and happened to come into the office one day.

“I guess she liked what she saw,” Gene said.

Now, Gene and Maria share an office of their own. After 34 years of marriage, they are able to finish each others sentences and still look at each other the way that newlyweds do.

“We’ve been married longer than some of the (UND staff and faculty) have been alive and in the case of students, long before they have been alive,” Gene said. “We’re just kind of viewed as a part of the department.”

Although Gene teaches advanced level Spanish classes, he often shows up in Maria’s Spanish 101 classes as a substitute and a teaching resource. Sometimes he is nothing more than an example of good facial hair.

“This past semester we were describing the portraits of several people, and this one had a nice manicured beard so I grabbed Gene and he comes in, and I say to my students, ‘Let’s see a contrast now,’” Maria said. “He’s really good about those things.”

Gene and Maria say their marriage doesn’t get in the way of their teaching or change the attitudes of their students and coworkers.

“We’re just part of the show,” Gene said. “The students get a kick out of it because they will have had her, and be taking me. I’ll make references to our personal lives, you know, our kids and stuff, and they just laugh and carry on.”

When it comes to working with a significant other, Maria warns that sometimes it can be too much of a good thing.  They are together in the office during the day and at home each night.

“I think for the most part, we’ve had maybe one scwabble or two over the years,” Maria said.

Gene insists they are able to work so closely together because they separate their work and home lives as much as possible.

“Don’t bring your work home, and don’t bring your home to your work,” Gene said. “Separate the two completely.”

Gene and Maria said working together can be beneficial for themselves and couples like them.

Some universities — but not UND -— have non-nepotism clauses. Nepotism is favoritism shown or patronage granted to relatives in a business setting. While there are issues regarding nepotism in the workplace, there are distinct advantages for universities and faculty as well.

“For the university, one of the major advantages is that it assures people are going to stay,” Gene said. “When you hire a couple and they are making progress towards a tenure and a promotion, chances are they aren’t going to leave because they probably aren’t going to find the same situation someplace else,” Gene said.

Gene and Maria plan to retire together, but Grand Forks might not be the best place to carry out this plan.

“We will look for a much more amenable climate to live,” Maria said.

Adele Kieger is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].