The news about the present and future of foreign language instruction in the modern U.S. university often seems bleak. Reports emphasize enrollment declines, budget cuts, and destructive administrative consolidations. Even though French remains one of the world’s most-spoken languages, French departments on many U.S. campuses have not been immune to these serious pressures. On the other hand, we know that despite those pressures, in some institutions the teaching of French is not just surviving but thriving. Some French programs are experiencing enrollment growth and program expansion; they are implementing pedagogical innovations; they are revitalizing collaborations with external stakeholders. These achievements too often go unnoticed, and the lessons to be learned too often overlooked.
The UW-Madison Center for Interdisciplinary French Studies (CIFS) is hosting a one-day conference on Friday, June 6, to explore those achievements. With generous support from the French Embassy, we are bringing together a distinguished group of leading innovators in the study and promotion of French. The group will engage in a constructive, positive, forward-looking discussion of approaches and strategies that have succeeded or that have the promise to succeed at increasing student interest in and university support for French language instruction.
Members of the UW-Madison community interested in the future of language instruction on campus are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
Thursday, June 5
- 5:00-6:00, Informal “welcome” wine & cheese reception, The French House, 633 N Frances St
Friday, June 6
- 8:30-9:00: Continental breakfast, WID Orchard Room
- 9:00-9:15: Opening Remarks (Jason Yackee and/or Heather Allen), UW-Madison
- 9:15-10:00: Keynote address (
- 10:00-10:15: Coffee break
- 10:15-12:00: Panel One: Leadership Strategies
- Gilles Bousquet, Moderator
- Lydia Tang, MLA]
- Rebekah Paré, Pare Consulting, LLC
- Béatrice Dupuy, University of Arizona
- 12:00-1:00: Lunch (WID)
- 1:00-2:45: Panel 2: Taking French from the Classroom to the Community: Service learning, study abroad, and professional pathways
- Heather Allen, UW-Madison, Moderator
- Deb Reisinger, Duke
- Claire Tourmen, Berkeley
- Subha Xavier, Emory
- 2:45-3:00: Coffee Break
- 3:00-4:45: Panel 3: French Across the Professions
- Lionel Cuillé, Washington University in Saint Louis
- Logan Connors, University of Miami
- Mary Anne Lewis Cusato, Ohio-Wesleyan
- Thierry A. Torea, Cornell University
- 4:45-5:15: Closing Remarks: Jean-Christophe Dissart, Higher Education Attaché at the French Embassy in Washington, DC,
- 6:30: Dinner for speakers and invitees, Cadre, 2540 University Ave.
This event is sponsored by the Anonymous Fund, The Center for Interdisciplinary French Studies, and France in the United States/ Embassy of France in Washington, DC
