Department of French & Italian at The University of Texas at Austin

Dean's Distinguished Graduate, Nehir Aran, was honored along with her fellow awardees last night at a dinner held by COLA. She is graduating with a double major in French and Nutrition and plans to go to medical school. Nehir has been such a wonderful presence in the French and Italian Department over the past few years, participating in the Lyon Summer Program in 2023, serving as president of the FRIT Ambassadors, and organizing the French Language Circle.

We are so proud of her and she will be missed! Bravo Nehir!

🎉🎓⭐

The annual "40 for 40" is here!

The Department of French and Italian is raising funds to support “Histories of Italian Americans in Texas” (HIAT), an oral history project kick-started by a team of faculty and students this past Fall 2025. This year, the team recorded video interviews of Texans of Italian descent living in Austin, Houston, Bryan, and Galveston. You can read more about the project here: https://lifeandletters.la.utexas.edu/2026/02/italians-in-texas/

Your donation will help us cover for travel expenses for undergraduate and graduate students in our team. We will also use funds to build a maintain a website that will host links to the UT Library digital collection where the interviews will be collected. The website will also include materials about the long history of Italian communities in the Lone Star state. Finally, donations will allow us to buy more equipment as the project expand.

Every gift matters. Every hour counts.

Click here to donate! https://give.utexas.edu/schools/UniversityofTexasatAustin/40-hours-for-the-forty-acres/pages/colleges-schools-and-departments/HIAT/?a=1

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

For more info on HIAT, please contact: Dr. Paola Bonifazio, [email protected] and Dr. Valerie McGuire, [email protected]

Happy birthday to the Lyon Summer Program!

On Thursday, April 9th, the Lyon program celebrated its 30th anniversary with many former participants, organizers, and supporters in attendance. Thank you to Elli Shoemaker for coordinating lots of fun activities and for serving so diligently as Lyon director. The anniversary reception was followed on April 10th by a professionalization breakfast, where alumni shared their ongoing personal and professional experiences in French inspired by their participation in the program. Here's to another 30 years of FRIT in Lyon!

(A special shout-out to Kendall [Lyon alum] and Fernando [Lyon alum / FRIT student worker] who designed much of the merch and promo materials for the anniversary!)

Lyon Summer Program - University of Texas at Austin

The UT Austin chapter of the Gamma Kappa Alpha National Italian Honor Society is now accepting applications! Eligible participants may learn more and submit their applications at our website: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/frenchitalian/undergraduate-program/ba-in-italian/gamma-kappa-alpha-national-italian-honor-society.html

The Department of French and Italian is proud to announce that Nehir Aran, a senior double majoring in French Studies and Nutrition, has been selected as a 2026 College of Liberal Arts Dean's Distinguished Graduate!

The DDG program was established in 1980 to recognize graduating Liberal Arts students who have distinguished themselves in the areas of scholarship, leadership, and service to the College and University community. It is a prestigious honor that Nehir greatly embodies and deserves.

Besides her studies, Nehir's interests include interdisciplinary teaching, community outreach, and language as a cross-cultural communication tool. Through her EMS work, volunteering, research, and leadership, she has strived to serve her community across various domains. After graduation, she plans to attend medical school. Nehir has served as a French Ambassador to the FRIT department for the past two years and is a co-founder of the "Le Cercle français" (a student-led French conversation group). Additionally, she is an alum of the Lyon Summer Program and currently works as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in French.

We are excited to celebrate Nehir's accomplishments and her exciting future ahead!

FRIT is proud to announce that PhD Candidate Gene Ferrier-Rainey (French Linguistics) has been offered an appointment as Assistant Professor and Language Program Director at the University of Arizona, beginning Fall 2026! Gene started her PhD at UT Austin in 2020 and has been a dedicated instructor and invaluable colleague ever since. We wish her the best of luck as she finishes her PhD this spring and moves forward on her new journey!

The Study Abroad Scholarship supports undergraduate students who plan to participate in an approved study abroad program.
It is designed to make global learning more accessible to students across all colleges and majors.

Link to apply: https://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/secure/sgo/studyabroadscholarship.php

Applications are due on tomorrow at 3:00 pm
If you have any questions, please DM us!

❄⛄ Happy Holidays, FRIT! We hope you have a restful and safe break!

Homer Rainey Hall will be closing today, December 18th, 2025 and will reopen on January 5th, 2026. UT affiliates (students, staff, faculty) will still be able to access the building with their IDs through the celebrated entrance, facing the HRC Plaza.

FRIT staff will be on break, as well, so in case of emergency, please contact UTPD by calling 911 or by contacting Facilities for any building-related emergencies, such as damage. ⛄❄