French Consul General Visits URI To Recognize Shared Connections

KINGSTON, RI — The University of Rhode Island celebrated the United States' and France's relationship last month, with a special visit from the French consul general.

A delegation from France visited the University of Rhode Island in November to nurture connections between the countries and for Mustafa Soykurt, consul general of France in Boston, to make his first visit to the university since he assumed the role as the French government’s leading representative in New England.

Soykurt’s visit also celebrated two URI faculty members, Karen de Bruin and Lars Erickson, both named chevaliers in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French government, which is French for "knight" in the “Order of Academic Palms." They were recognized for their work in the U.S. and abroad. They join colleagues JoAnn Hammadou-Sullivan and Joelle Rollo-Koster in receiving the honor.

The distinction is the highest honor bestowed by the French Republic to academics for valuable service to education. Established in 1808 by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte to honor distinguished members of the University of Paris, it is one of the oldest civil honors bestowed by the Republic of France. In recent years, the number of people receiving this distinction has been halved, making it even more of an impressive achievement, university officials said.

URI has one of the largest French programs in the U.S. The school has several colleges at the engaged in STEM-related work and research collaborations with French colleagues and partners.

The visit was not only about French-language study but also about cooperative relationships across the university, such as Stephan Grilli, professor of ocean engineering, who discussed his collaborations in France during the consular visit. Grilli has active research collaborations with the University of Toulon and the Ecole des Ponts/St. Venant Laboratory in Paris, and has collaborated in the past with the Universities of Nice, Nantes, Biarritz and Brest.

"The Boston Consulate and the U.S. Embassy see URI as a locus of excellence in French education, learning, language, culture and research," de Bruin said. "And this visit was a recognition of that. There is formidable, active research happening across the University, connected to France and French history and culture. This visit promoted that scholarship and connections."

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