Suzanne Carrell (March 6, 1923 – April 21, 2019) was an American educator and recipient of the awards of the

Order of Academic Palms Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

, the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

, and the National Order of Merit in honor for her service to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. She was the co-founder of the

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

chapter of the

Alliance Française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

and was a key member of the Congress of French Culture in Florida, based in

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Early life and education

Carrell was born in

Albi, France Albi (; ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (, ). It is the seat of the Archbishop of Albi. The ...

in 1923. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she studied at the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers 1 (), commonly called Benyoucef Benkhedda, is a public research university based in Algiers, Algeria. Founded in 1909 from the amalgamation of different French colonial educational institutions, it has become the oldes ...

, where she graduated with a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in foreign language and the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

. In 1954, she became an instructor at

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonvill ...

after moving to the city with her husband, who was an

American Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

captain.

Career

In 1961, Carrell co-founded a local chapter of the

in Jacksonville. By the following year, she facilitated the relocation of the existing Congress of French Culture in Florida to the Jacksonville University campus, where it would remain for several years. Carrell continued her work as the university expanded until, in 1974, she was finally granted the opportunity to head a new department devoted entirely to the study of the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

. For its duration between 1980 and 1986, Carrell was an active promoter of the

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

program between Jacksonville and

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. As part of this promotion, a scholarship was made available by the French government through the Congress of French Culture, ''la Bourse Suzanne Carrell'', that made it possible for meritorious students of French to spend a summer studying in France. After her retirement in 1989, Carrell continued to be an active member in all of her organizations and was highly praised for her work in strengthening the cultural ties between the United States and France.

Awards and recognition

In 1967, Carrell was decreed a Knight of the

. In 1980, a scholarship open to participants of Congress of French Culture in Florida was established in her name and continues to this day. In 2002, Carrell was awarded the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

by then-President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

. In 2012, Carrell was awarded the National Order of Merit by the Consul General of France

Gaël de Maisonneuve Gaël ( Gallo: ''Gaèu'', Breton: ''Gwazel'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It lies southwest of Rennes between Saint-Méen-le-Grand and Mauron. In the 18th century, a fair was held twice ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrell, Suzanne 1923 births 2019 deaths Jacksonville University faculty French emigrants to the United States Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Recipients of the Ordre national du Mérite French people of colonial Algeria