College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

• French knight

  Clyde Thogmartin, emeritus associate professor of world languages and cultures, has been recognized by the French government.

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  When he was first asked to be the managing editor of the French Review, Clyde Thogmartin turned the offer down.
  
  At the time he was putting the finishing touches on his book, The National Daily Press of France, and didn't feel like he could devote the necessary time.
  
  Three years later, the flagship publication of the American Association of Teachers of French was back at Thogmartin's doorstep asking him to reconsider the job.
  
  "I thought I wouldn't get the opportunity again," said Thogmartin, associate professor emeritus of French and linguistics.
  
  So this time, Thogmartin said yes. Little did he know that after completing a three-year term as managing editor of the French Review that he would be recognized for that effort by the French government.
  
  He has recently been named a "Chevalier dans l'ordre des Palmes Academiques" (Knight in the Order of Academic Palms), for his "contributions to French culture." The decoration, given by the French Ministry of Education, is the oldest civil distinction awarded in France.
  
  "I'm pretty certain that I received the award primarily for being the managing editor of the French Review," Thogmartin said.
  
  In his role as the managing editor of the largest circulation journal of French studies, Thogmartin served as a copy editor, proofreader and fact checker for six issues each year.
  
  "It keeps you busy and three years is about all you can take (in this role)," Thogmartin said. "But I felt like I was doing something useful for the profession."
  
  Now Thogmartin has been recognized for that service, an award which he views as a "lifetime achievement."
  
  "This award shows me that somebody else noticed what I accomplished in my career," he said. "Often times as a teacher you don't see the results of what you're doing.
  
  "This type of award makes you feel like you've accomplished something."
  
  There was something else that Thogmartin accomplished during his career – the book that initially delayed his decision to become the managing editor of the French Review.
  
  The National Daily Press of France is a "very general book." While previous manuscripts had been published on the influence of newspapers during the French Revolution, little had been written in English on journalism in France. Thogmartin's book looks at the French national press from the 17th century to present day.
  
  "The press in France is free now but it was an epic struggle to gain that freedom," Thogmartin said. "That made an interesting story."
  
  A member of the Iowa State faculty from 1968 until he retired in 2003, Thogmartin taught French language, linguistics and culture. He was director of Iowa State's study abroad program in France and worked to place students in the Lausanne (Switzerland) and Laval (Canada) programs.
  
  He was a founding member of the Iowa State cross-disciplinary program in linguistics, a program that he also chaired during his time on campus.
  
  His research interests in French linguistics span broad historical and geographical frames including French in Canada and the United States.

Clyde Thogmartin

Around LAS
January 8-21, 2007

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