Dr. Rolande Léguillon, Ph.D., Gamma Eta

 

Dr. Léguillon received her Baccalaureate in Latin-Greek and in Philosphy from the University of Paris, her B.A. from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, her M.A. from the University of Houston, and her Ph.D. from Rice University in Houston. Before joining the French Department at the University of St. Thomas in Houston in 1968, Dr. Léguillon taught French at several primary schools in France and pioneered the AP program in French at Lamar High School in Houston. At St. Thomas, Dr. Léguillon served as the Chair of the Modern Foreign Languages, then French, Department for many years and the Chair of the French section for over three decades. Besides serving on and chairing dozens of university committees, Dr. Léguillon was extremely active in local, regional and national professional organizations, including the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), for which she served as the Southwest Regional AATF representative from 1975-1980, and the Federation of Alliances Françsaises in the United States on whose Board she served from 1986-1999. Dr. Léguillon published and delivered conference presentations on numerous subjects, in particular on Pierre Loti, and the teaching and history of French language and culture. She received many awards and recognitions, including the 1994 Teacher of the Year (awarded by the Texas Foreign Language Association), Who's Who in American Women, Who's Who in American Education, and was the distinctions of Chevalier (1976) and Officier (1995) in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques awarded by the French Government. Dr. Léguillon passed away on March 17, 2012.