Congratulations to Professor Aurore Mroz who was awarded one of the Villa Albertine's (French Institute for Culture and Education) prestigious French in Higher Education grants for 2025-2027 grant cycle.
Professor Aurore Mroz's Cercle Francophone project aims to develop and maintain French-English bilingualism and biliteracy in Francophone and Francophile children in the Champaign-Urbana community using a three-pronged approach: (a) a series of two-hour-long sessions of fun pedagogical activities in French designed for children of 3-11 years and hosted the Champaign public library, (b) the participation of K-6 dual-immersion teachers, pupils, and their parents recruited from local middle schools, and (c) undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in various classes, including the Department of French & Italian's (FRIT) upcoming 'French in the Community' course scheduled to be taught for the first time in Fall 2025. This award, supplemented by funding from FRIT and the 'French-in-Illinois Center of Excellence', will increase our programs outreach and visibility and serve as seed funding for additional grant applications in France and Quebec.
Félicitations, Professeure Mroz!