Letter from the President

I want to begin by acknowledging the challenges that we are confronting daily due to the current geopolitical and economic situation that is playing out in North America and around the world.  Attacks on immigrants and those who support them, budget cuts for education, the devaluation of academic and professional expertise, a fundamental lack of respect for human rights and the other values that underpin our democracy make our work difficult but necessary.  I reaffirm the support of Women in French for all our members around the world.  

I want to continue by thanking those members of the WIF Board of Directors who have recently cycled off the Board for their service.  First and foremost, I thank Adrienne Angelo, our Past Vice-President.  Adrienne has been a stalwart of the WIF Board of Directors having served as a regional representative and as Vice President.  Her meticulous organization and level-headed approach to leadership was an immense benefit to WIF.  Her presence on our board will be missed.  A debt of gratitude is also owed to Cecilia Beach, a past WIF President, who stepped up to serve as the Production Editor of Women in French Studies for the past several years.  This type of work is time-intensive and detail-oriented.  We were all fortunate that Cecilia was willing to take this on after having previous served as WIF President and WIF Conference Organizer.   Finally, I want to recognize the good work of Eric Wistrom, the interim Regional Representative for the Midwest MLA, Cyrielle Faivre, the Regional Representative for New England MLA, and Glen Fetzer, the Regional Representative for Rocky Mountain MLA who have all completed their terms.  We wish longtime member, Glen Fetzer a well-deserved retirement as well.    Their work organizing sessions at the regional MLA conferences offered our members the opportunity to present their work, to collaborate, and to maintain professional connections.  For all this, we are grateful.  

I am honored to have been re-elected as President of WIF.  I look forward to working with all of you and with the WIF Board of Directors to navigate these challenging times. I realize that some of you may be stretched to your breaking point and to you, I say that we stand with you in solidarity and offer you our resources and support.  For those who have the capacity to contribute, I would like you to consider how you might help out the organization.  While our finances are robust, there are a variety of ways to engage with WIF.  Here are my top 10:

1. Vote in WIF polls that are sent out.  Your input is valued!
2. Mentor a WIF member.  Reach out to Vice Presidents Anne Marcoline and Eric Wistrom if this is of interest.
3. Offer to review a book for Women in French Studies.
4. Integrate the One Book, One WIF selection into a course you are teaching or a research project you are pursuing if appropriate.
5. Propose a WIF session at the next regional MLA in your area or submit a paper proposal to a WIF session.
6. Register for a free WIF webinar like the one coming up in March on creative writing and pedagogy. Reach out to me to register; places are limited.  saschechner@widener.edu
7. Register for and attend the upcoming WIF Biannual Conference in May.
8. Consider future involvement in executive roles on the WIF Board of Directors (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer: Please reach out to me at any time to talk about all of these roles and what they entail.) Volunteer to serve on the Women in French Board now (current open positions: interim Northeast MLA representative (1-year term) and Graduate Essay Award Committee (2 positions; 3-year term).
9. Write an article or annotated bibliography for our blog.  
10. Find a collaborator and organize our next WIF conference!  This is a great opportunity to get to know the brilliant members of our organization.  The CFP for proposal to organize the WIF 2028 conference is officially open.  Send questions and/or brief proposals with the names of organizers, proposed location, and a paragraph describing your proposed conference theme to me at saschechner@widener.edu asap.  

I’m pleased to report that WIF finances are extremely strong.  At the end of 2025, our accounts held over $180,000. Our largest source of income each year are payments from Project Muse which makes Women in French Studies available digitally to their subscribers.  Our 2025 payment from Project Muse is $20,163.61 (another record year!).  We all owe a heartfelt thanks to Catherine Montfort who established this relationship with Project Muse and continues to administer our connection with that organization based at Johns Hopkins University.

I am pleased to announce that in 2026 our conference will be hosted by Amina Seydou, our current WIF Treasurer, and her colleagues at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

If you have not already done so, please register for the conference as soon as possible.  Here’s the link:  https://www.jmu.edu/languages/events/women-in-french-conference/index.shtml

I want to briefly outline some of the most significant concrete resources that we offer to you during these difficult times. 

1. Grants
a. Emergency Grants (2 $1,000 grants/quarter)
b. Travel Grants for Graduate Students presenting at WIF Biannual Conference as well as at WIF panels at regional MLA conferences (there is now no cap on the number of these grants as the WIF Board of Directors has responded to increased need.)
c. Bénédicte Monicat Memorial Research Award ($2,000/year)
d. Undergraduate and Graduate Essay Awards 

2. Mentoring
a.  Job search
b. Research and publication
c. Teaching
d. Mid-career
e. Administration career options
f. Retirement planning
g. Alternative careers beyond higher education 

I encourage you all to reach out for additional support as needed.  It is only through collective action and support that we will make it through this dark time.  

Amitiés,

Stephanie
Spring 2026