F&M Stories

During her nearly four decades at the College, Lisa Gasbarrone, Professor of French and Francophone Studies, richly enhanced Franklin & Marshall’s quality of shared governance and campus life. Among her signal achievements, Professor Gasbarrone played a pivotal role in designing the International Studies program. In two terms as director, she held reading groups, inaugurated the Global Lunch series, partnered with students to raise human rights awareness, and organized campus visits of such notable figures as Rashid Khalidi, Nicholas Kristof, Raj Patel, Miroslav Wolf, and Nobel Prize winner Leymah Gbowee.

In 2005, Professor Gasbarrone collaborated with the Alice Drum Women’s Center and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program to sponsor the inaugural International Women's Week, which has since become a College tradition. A staunch advocate of off-campus study and experiential learning, Professor Gasbarrone served on the Board of International Field Experience, an academic internship program in Paris.

Professor Gasbarrone’s lengthy list of administrative and committee responsibilities reflects her commitment to shared governance. Among other roles, her three terms as chair of the Department of French and Francophone Studies, her service on Faculty Council, and her leadership of the Budget Priorities Committee demonstrate her responsiveness and collegial spirit. In the words of Sean Flaherty, Professor Emeritus of Economics, “Lisa’s was among the wisest of voices; she was always well-prepared, open-minded, and gracefully articulate in the expression of her understandings and opinions. She was, in short, a colleague to be emulated and admired.”

Professor Gasbarrone’s dedication as don of Brooks College House exemplified her commitment to student welfare and intellectual enrichment, culminating in initiatives addressing the College’s history with slavery, the importance of language study, and contemporary challenges ranging from war in Ukraine to climate change, cultural diversity, and language loss. As Colette Shaw, Dean of Students, recollected, “Lisa began her don role in the early months of COVID. She immediately offered timely programming like the reading group for Camus’ ‘The Plague’ and community building fireside chats. She led with her fearlessness and devotion.”

In honor of the breadth, depth, collegiality, and creativity of her contributions, Professor Lisa Gasbarrone is a worthy recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Service Award.