I write this Chair’s Letter in late July 2025, after a summer marked by a fair amount of media coverage of the ongoing plans for eliminating, suspending and consolidating many IU degree programs, in response to the new Indiana law HEA 1001. Many of you have reached out with questions and support, after hearing that FRIT degree programs are on the list of degrees affected.
Our main message to you in this situation is the following: While our department and programs are undergoing changes, they are here to stay and everyone at FRIT is fully committed to this goal. Our BA and PhD degree programs have all been recommended for suspension in view of consolidation, as tracks within larger “umbrella” degrees. However, our intention is to preserve these academic offerings by incorporating them as specialized tracks within broader interdisciplinary degree programs.
Few names resonate more deeply in the Department of French and Italian than those of Professors Margaret Gray and Eileen Julien. Over the course of their remarkable careers, they’ve shaped not only academic disciplines, but also the lives and aspirations of countless students and colleagues, both on campus and around the globe.
Now both retired, Gray and Julien continue to inspire through a new namesake award: the Gray-Julien Award. Given annually to an exemplary graduate student in French and Francophone studies, the award reflects the values Gray and Julien have championed throughout their entire careers: commitment, imagination, and a belief in the transformative power of the humanities.
We want to hear from you! Share your story, and let us know what’s new in your career and life.
Has your contact information changed? Notify the College of Arts and Sciences’ Director of Alumni Engagement Vanessa Cloe. You can call her at (812) 855-8891, or e-mail her via the link below.
Follow the IU Department of French and Italian on:
When you give to your alma mater, it shows that you understand the value of a liberal arts education. You understand that we’re preparing our students for successful, meaningful lives. And you understand that you’re investing not only in our students and their futures, but also in the continued excellence of the Department of French and Italian.
This newsletter is published by the Department of French and Italian and the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington.
Department of French and Italian
Chair: Hall Bjørnstad
Editor: Karolina Serafin
College of Arts and Sciences
Executive Dean: Rick Van Kooten
Executive Director of Advancement: Jeff Stuckey
Director of Alumni Engagement: Vanessa Cloe
Director of Advancement Communications: Raymond Fleischmann
Associate Director of Advancement Communcations: Sarah Johnson LaBarbera
The College of Arts