La Cité celebrated its new status as a full, University of Regina faculty at a reception held on Oct. 14 Credit: La Cité
When Beatrice Miranda finished her francophone high school education in 2022 at the École Monseigneur de Laval, she was not sure whether her aspirations for university education in French would be met without having to move to a different province.
Then she learned that La Cité universitaire francophone (La Cité) facilitates the Faculty of Education's French education program (le Bac en éducation française) dedicated to training French teachers - something she really wanted to be.
"I was glad there was a French education program I could apply for here in Regina. Most of the education I received since elementary was in French, so I became comfortable with learning everything in that language," said Miranda, now a first-year student of Le Bac at the University of Regina.
"It's even more meaningful to me that I can continue my post-secondary studies in French and continue to pass on the Francophone culture and language to the younger generations once I graduate. With La Cité becoming a full faculty, it can only get better because people like me will have more options to study French or even study other things in French," said Miranda.
For students like Miranda who desire to pursue French education, more opportunities are on their way. On September 1, La Cité became officially recognized as a full-fledged faculty within the University of Regina enabling it to fulfill the educational needs and aspirations of Saskatchewan's Francophones. La Cite's new status is being officially celebrated at an event on October 14.
Achieving faculty status will allow La Cite to develop new academic programs in French, leading to new partnerships and a more promising future for post-secondary education in French. La Cité already offers an increasing range of academic programs, including a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Master of Arts (MA), and doctorate (PhD) degree in Francophone and Intercultural Studies.
"I am grateful to the University administration for clarifying La Cité's academic and administrative status as a faculty. This repositions us to partner with other faculties and academic institutions to expand access to university education in French. We are building strong partnerships right now, so that in the near future La Cité's students will be able to enroll in more courses and programs in other disciplines across our campus, all while studying and living in French," said Dr. Emmanuel Aito, Dean of La Cité.
"Making La Cité a full faculty like others within the University is a strong symbolic statement about the importance of French-language education. But even more importantly, it will enhance the University's ability to continue fulfilling the academic aspirations and university educational needs of Saskatchewan people," said University of Regina President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Jeff Keshen.
The Saskatchewan French-speaking community is also excited about La Cite's new status which they have lobbied for over the past number of years.
"Since 2003, when the mandate of the Language Institute at the University of Regina was revised to create the Institut français, Saskatchewan's Francophone community has waited for more opportunities for French language education to be possible in our province so that one day our children will not have to leave the province in pursuit of university education in French," said Denis Simard, President of the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise (ACF).
La Cité was founded in 2015 when the Department of French merged with the Institut français, following the recommendations of a working group set up by the University in 2012 to determine the future of post-secondary education in French. With its new status, La Cité will continue to play an active role in the cultural, linguistic, academic and professional development of students and the Fransaskois community by offering credit and non-credit programs in French.
To learn more about La Cité and its programs, please visit: https://lacite.uregina.ca/en.
