Suzanne Carrell

Carrell was born in Albi, France in 1923. After the Second World War, she studied at the University of Algiers, where she graduated with a Master's degree in foreign language and the humanities. In 1954, she became an instructor at Jacksonville University after moving to the city with her husband, who was an American Army captain.^[4]

In 1961, Carrell co-founded a local chapter of the Alliance Française in Jacksonville.^[2][5] 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.^[6] 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.^[4]

For its duration between 1980 and 1986, Carrell was an active promoter of the sister city program between Jacksonville and Nantes.^[1] 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.^[5]

After her retirement in 1989,^[2] 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.^{[citation needed]}

In 1967, Carrell was decreed a Knight of the Order of Academic Palms.^[2]

In 1980, a scholarship open to participants of Congress of French Culture in Florida was established in her name and continues to this day.^[6]

In 2002, Carrell was awarded the French Legion of Honor by then-President Jacques Chirac.^[5]

In 2012, Carrell was awarded the National Order of Merit by the Consul General of France Gaël de Maisonneuve.^[4][7]