RELEASED: July 28, 2005

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College 2005 graduates Kim Bauser and Patrick Malarky couldn't wait to get back to France after their year abroad in Strasbourg. Thanks to the Voltaire Scholars Travel Fund—the brainchild of Charles Vahlkamp, Hazelrigg professor emeritus of French—their return trips were made a lot easier.

"The fund covers travel expenses for a Centre student to return to France. It's a study opportunity that's more intensively language-based than our Strasbourg program," says Vahlkamp, who made a generous contribution to the fund in addition to conceiving it.

"Patrick and I both received Voltaire scholarships this past year so that we would be financially able to travel to Strasbourg and work with Dr. [Ken] Keffer [Stodghill Professor of Modern Languages] for a month helping him prepare for his spring semester abroad," says Bauser. "We had originally planned to work as teaching assistants at the linguistic center in Besançon, but when that fell through Dr. Keffer generously offered to let us help him instead. With Dr. Keffer insisting that Patrick and I speak only French for the term, my skill and comfort with the language definitely improved. And, getting to return to a city that I'd already grown to love during my semester abroad my sophomore year reminded me why I had loved it and encouraged me to want to go back—whether for fun or even to work for a year or two. This trip also provided me with time and inspiration as I worked on my French seminar project, a series of short stories (in French of course) about my adventures abroad."

Vahlkamp adds, "In recent years, several students who had spent a term in Centre's Strasbourg program were able to return to France for a winter term in Besançon, where we've established a link with a language institute there."

The first student who went to Besançon was Whitney Camack. She went on to earn an M.A. in French civilization and literature at the University of Cincinnati, where she is now an adjunct instructor of French. She also teaches at Xavier University.

"The impact on our students, observable upon return, has been spectacular," says Vahlkamp about the follow-up trips. "The fact of being on their own and of speaking French almost exclusively allowed for considerable linguistic progress and, more important, a substantial gain in self-confidence."

A noted Voltaire scholar, Vahlkamp wrote his dissertation on Voltaire and published scholarly articles in Studies on Voltaire. Vahlkamp notes that Strasbourg has a Voltaire connection as well. The writer and philosopher spent one of his many periods of exile in the Alsace region, where Strasbourg is located.

"We're humbled in the French program at Centre to have an emeritus colleague, Charles Vahlkamp, whose enlightenment knows no boundaries of space and time," says Keffer. "Charles is convinced that when our best students become Voltaire Scholars they might one day become scholars of Voltaire!"

Richard Trollinger, vice president for college relations, notes that through programs such as the Voltaire Scholars, Centre, where 75 percent of students study abroad, has become a national leader in international study. "What Centre does through its study abroad program to prepare students for life in a global society is truly remarkable," he says. "The Voltaire Scholars Travel Fund has added value to the study abroad program for students majoring in French and who wish to take their study of French language, literature and culture to a new level."

Students who would like to take advantage of this opportunity should contact Keffer at 859-238-5233 or keffer@centre.edu. Anyone interested in making a donation to support the Voltaire Scholars should contact Trollinger at 859-238-5209 or trllngr@centre.edu.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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