IU School of Liberal Arts

Vermette Receives Knighthood from French Government

News Categories: Civic Engagement | Faculty and Staff | International | Research | World Languages and Cultures

The government of France recently awarded its highest honor for educators to Rosalie Vermette, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of French in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI.

France’s Ministry of National Education named Dr. Vermette a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Knight of the Order of Academic Palms) during a ceremony on April 21, 2011 at IUPUI.

Membership in the 200-year-old Order of Chivalry for academics and educators is based on a record of teaching, publication, and promotion of French language and culture through various professional activities. By virtue of her knighthood, Vermette will also become a member of the American Society of the French Academic Palms.

Monsieur Jean-François Rochard, French deputy cultural attaché, traveled to IUPUI from the consular office in Chicago to confer the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques. The faculty of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, in conjunction with the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, hosted the ceremony during which IUPUI alumni, students, faculty and staff, along with Vermette’s family and friends celebrated the professor’s extensive list of achievements.

Dean of Liberal Arts William Blomquist,  said of Vermette, "Throughout her career at IUPUI, Rosalie Vermette has been a leader, a builder-and quite the multi-tasker. She is, to put it succinctly and without exaggeration, one of the key faculty who has built this place. Her impact here is thorough, pervasive, and lasting."

Vermette began her teaching career in France as a lecturer at Université de Poitiers, and then taught at the University of Iowa, where she completed her master’s and Ph.D degrees in French. She came to IUPUI in 1976 and taught until she retired in 2010. Vermette’s administrative appointments at IUPUI included her leadership of the Department of French and its successor the French Program in the Department of World Languages and Cultures and resident directorship of the IU Summer Program in Dijon, France. She also spent many summers teaching at the Institut d’Études Européennes in Paris.

In a nomination letter, Jayne Abrate, member of the American Association of Teachers of French and the executive director of the French Review, wrote: "Professor Vermette works very steadily and efficiently, and is just as happy to work in the background as she is in the spotlight. She is enthusiastic and very supportive in her relations with her colleagues. All these qualities also speak well of her excellence in the classroom, as her students can benefit from all of her cultural and professional experiences."

Vermette’s colleague in the French program, Larbi Oukada, Ph.D., offered the knighthood ceremony’s final remarks. "The honor bestowed on Rosalie today richly recognizes her dedication and commitment to excellence in education. But it is her positive presence, genuine warmth, and joyful personality that touched students and faculty alike. "

Pictured: Rosalie Vermette receives the Palmes Académiques from Monsieur Jean-François Rochard, French deputy cultural attaché. [See more photos from the event]

—Prepared by Diana Poncar, Liberal Arts News Bureau

Published on: May 09, 2011