Diane Dansereau

Diane Dansereau (Modern Languages) 9/3/1985 – 8/31/2021

I was hired in 1985 with a Ph.D. in Romance Linguistics from the University of Michigan to direct the French program in the Department of Modern Languages and have held that position for 36 years. Under my supervision, the program became stronger and more relevant as we moved course content away from France-based studies to include the entire Francophone World. As a researcher and an educator, I am delighted with the success of my text/reference books on French phonetics and grammar. I also served two terms as Department Chair, for a total of nine years.

My proudest service accomplishments include the reduction of the DML tenure-track faculty teaching load from 5 to 4 classes per year and my leadership role as Chair of the CLAS Task Force for the creation and implementation of the Clinical Teaching Track. For the past 14 months, my husband and I have been residing full-time in our forested mountain home southwest of the city and that is where we will gladly and happily live from now on. In addition to bird and critter-watching, my future includes lots of hiking (with my brand-new hip), fly-fishing, snowshoeing, astronomy, and finally getting back to playing music with my husband and kids (when they visit from the UK and Durango). And of course, once it is safe, we will again travel the globe to visit old friends and discover new destinations. I will miss my colleagues and friends at CU but can’t wait to start this new chapter.