After two years of offering undergraduate students funding to study in France or a francophone country over the summer, the Department of French and Italian will now offer the Professor Beth Poe Travel Fund in French Immersion Studies to one graduate student each year as well.
Created in 2017 by Jeff Klein (A&S ’93), the annual Beth Poe Travel Fund honors Elizabeth Poe, Professor Emeritus of French whose selfless devotion to students as a scholar, teacher, advisor, mentor, and friend had a profound impact on Tulane’s Department of French and Italian. One undergraduate student and one graduate student will receive $5,000 to use toward studying abroad or participation in an internationally recognized scholarly conference, with a goal of French cultural and language immersion.
“We are honored and deeply grateful to Mr. Klein for his generosity, and for his desire to convey his appreciation of the wonderful years and rewarding experiences that he enjoyed in our program. Mr. Klein’s gesture reaffirms and forever extends the excellent tradition of learning that the faculty and students of French and Italian, both past and present, have worked so hard to establish,” said Michael Syrimis, professor and department chair for the Department of French and Italian.
While Klein initiated his generous gift in 2017, just last year he doubled the gift, allowing the deparment to extend the funding to graduate students. Graduate students are encouraged to apply during their first year of study, and undergraduates are encouraged to apply their second year. Past recipients have spent their summers in Tours and Montpellier, France, living with host families, studying French in immersion programs, and exploring their surroundings.
Applications for the Summer 2019 Beth Poe Travel Fund are due March 15, 2019. Interested students should submit a curriculum vitae of no more than two pages in length and a statement indicating how the award funds would be used. Graduate applications should be submitted to Professor Fayçal Falaky, director of graduate studies in the Department of French and Italian, and undergraduate applications should be submitted to Professor Alexandra Reuber, director of undergraduate studies in the Department of French and Italian.