U. establishes French Institute

The University has established a French Institute for Culture and Technology to increase understanding of French culture, technology, research and development with a $100,000 gift from the French government. Romance Languages Professor Stephen Nichols, who traveled to New York City last spring to negotiate with a representative of the French government about instituting the program, said the government's donation of start-up money was an "unprecedented" act. "For the first time, the French government went into partnership with an American university," Nichols said yesterday. "It is unique -- that is not my term, that is the term the French themselves are using." Nichols added that the French government was so pleased with the idea of the Institute that they are looking to establish similar ones at other schools, using the University as a model. The French were particularly impressed with the interdisciplinary nature of the University, he said. The new Institute will be a collaborative effort -- potentially involving all of the University's schools -- that will take a "new approach to the awareness of French culture and technology," Nichols said. Although the concrete details have not been worked out yet, Provost Michael Aiken said yesterday that he expects the Institute to be located in Lauder-Fischer Hall, but administered out of the School of Arts and Sciences. A director of the Institute has not yet been named, Aiken said, adding that he hopes to select one soon so the Institute can "hit the ground running in the summer and fall." He also said that the University will be looking to the 147 French firms in the Delaware Valley and University alumni for their financial support. According to the University's Institute proposal, the Institute will ideally be self-supporting in the long-run, but the total Institute budget has not yet been established. The Institute's purposes, which are outlined in the proposal, include encouraging research and teaching about France and French language and culture, disseminating literature about these activities to the University community and raising money for programs. Aiken said the Institute is an extension of the University's efforts to internationalize its scope. "It's part of the whole international effort," he said. "[We want to] focus our energies on developing and nurturing current relationships and new relationships with French institutions that would be beneficial to Penn and vice versa." In the long term, the Institute will host speakers, provide graduate student fellowships for study in France, sponsor visiting professors for varying terms and hold a yearly colloquium, the proposal states. The Institute was officially inaugurated earlier this month during a visit by the French ambassador to the United States. 'It's part of the whole international effort. [We want to] focus our energies on developing and nurturing current relationships and new relationships with French institutions that would be beneficial to Penn and vice versa.' Provost Michael Aiken

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