The Department of French Studies recently hosted and sponsored both a two-day workshop and a colloquium drawing regional and international experts.

On Aug. 25 and 26, the department presented the workshop “Children of France: Their Cinematographic Representation,” featuring professor Sabine Chalvon-Demersay from the Centre d’Etudes des Mouvements Sociaux in Paris as its guest speaker. George Santoni of the University’s French studies department directed the workshop, which was funded by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

The Sept. 6 colloquium on Franco-American French — the French spoken by descendants of French-Canadian immigrants living in the northeastern U.S. — featured linguists from universities throughout the Northeast discussing their current research. The University’s Cynthia Fox organized the event with funding from the College of Arts & Sciences.

Bulgarian Connection Intact

Due largely to the efforts of Ernest Scatton of the Department of Russian and East European Studies, the United States Information Agency will once again fund “university affiliations” activities with Sofia University in Bulgaria for the next three years.

Hitchcock on Becker Board

This summer President Hitchcock was named an honorary member of the board of directors of The Becker Foundation, an organization dedicated to the memory of University alumnus, Albany Public Schools educator and Olympic boxing coach Dr. Ben Becker ’42. The Foundation annually funds a SUNY college scholarship to a graduating Albany High School senior. Last year’s recipient is now enrolled at Albany.

Malaysian Grant Extended

The World Bank has extended a grant contracted jointly with the School of Education and the Harvard Institute for International Development to assist the Malaysian Ministry of Education in planning educational management information system development and providing training and technical assistance for ministry staff.

Anthony Cresswell of the Department of Educational Adminis-tration and Policy Studies is project director for the School’s component, which has been funded at approximately $550,000.

Students Excel

Three graduate students and one undergraduate were honored nationally as the 1996-97 school year drew to a close.

Glen Ferro, an accounting major, was one of six juniors nationwide to receive a $2,000 scholarship from the Institute of Management Accounts. Awarded on a competitive basis, the scholarship is given for academic merit and leadership. Ferro has a perfect cumulative grade-point average of 4.0, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Beta Gamma Sigma national honors business fraternity, and the Golden Key national honor society.

This past summer Ferro, who is also a Presidential Award for Academic Achievement winner, participated in the Arthur Andersen Leadership Program, aimed at students interested in working for this major national accounting firm after graduation.

Kenneth Botsford, a Ph.D. candidate in history, was awarded a Fulbright Award in order to continue his dissertation research on “Restoring the Dialectic: Charles Andler, Lucien Herr, and French Hegelianism.” Botsford received his B.A. from Albany in 1983, his MLS in 1989, and his M.A. in history in 1994. Along with his historical specialization in history and culture, he has prepared a cognate field in philosophy.

Pauline Gasdow, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Criminal Jus-tice, won the Gene Carte Student Paper Competition, sponsored by the American Society of Criminology. Pauline, who begins work this fall as an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, will be given her award in November at the ASC meeting in San Diego.

Victoria A. Farrar-Myers, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science, was named a 1997-98 American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, which will grant her a one-month orientation session this November in Washington D.C., followed by nine months of full-time work as a legislative aide in a congressional office.

Third Fellow Admitted

The third Presidential Fellow to be admitted into the Ph.D. program in French Studies, David Machula, is beginning his doctoral studies on our campus this Fall. Mr. Machula has an M.A. in French from Middlebury College and a “Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies” (summa cum laude) from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris. Two other Presidential Fellows, Louise Charbonneau and Nicole Kfouri, were admitted into the program several years ago and are currently finishing their doctoral dissertation.

No Duffer is Duffee

David Duffee of the School of Criminal Justice teamed with Bernie Kelsh this summer to win the Eastern New York Golf Association Lou Torre Memorial 2-Man Best Ball Tournament at the Amsterdam Municipal Golf Course. Their score was a 69.