By decrees of the Prime Minister of France, dated january 9th 2018 and january 7th 2019, Mr. Jean-Douglas COMEAU and Mr. Allister SURETTE have been named to the rank of Knights in the Order of the Palmes Académiques. This honorary distinction will be formally presented by Mr. Johan Schitterer, Consul general of France in the Atlantic Provinces. The ceremony will take place on friday, November 1st at 5:30pm at Université Sainte-Anne's chapel.
The Palmes Académiques is one of the oldest civil orders of the French Republic, having been created by Imperial decree of Napoléon Bonaparte. The Order of the Palmes Académiques is dedicated to persons involved in Education and Higher Education who have distinguished themselves in an educational field or in research. Outside of universities, it can be conferred on persons who contribute to enrich the cultural heritage.
Born in Montreal, Mr. Jean-Douglas COMEAU completed part of his academic studies in France. He holds a PhD in linguistics from the Toulouse-le-Mirail University, and also studied at Sorbonne before becoming professor of French as a second language at Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia. His efforts to promote learning in French in an anglophone province led to the creation of a French immersion program at his arrival at Université Sainte-Anne in 1972. In 2005, he became Honorary Dean of the University. He worked with passion and pedagogy to develop this program until his retirement in 2017. Mr. COMEAU's action to promote francophonie extends beyond the borders of Atlantic Canada, since he took the initiative to work to develop exchanges with Louisiana and in particular the cajun community in the 1990s.
Born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Mr. Allister SURETTE graduated in science from Dalhousie University and in education from Saint Mary's University in Halifax. He was elected to the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly as the Member of Parliament for Argyle county in May 1993. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Collège de l'Acadie from 1998 to 2003. This institution is the only Francophone community college in Nova Scotia. Since July 1st, 2011, he has been Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Université Sainte-Anne. Mr. SURETTE is currently co-chair of the “Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne” (ACUFC), president of the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue and the Association of Atlantic Universities and president of the Conseil de développement économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse (CDÉNÉ).
Through these decorations to the ranks of Chevalier des Palmes Académiques, the French Government intends to pay tribute to Mr. COMEAU and Mr. SURETTE for their actions in favour of promoting the Francophonie in a minority setting in Nova Scotia.
For more information
Rachelle LeBlanc, Director of Communications and Marketing
Université Sainte-Anne
Tel.: 902-769-2114 Extension 7222
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