Message from the Chair

Your help makes success possible!

It is through the continued generosity and support of our dedicated donors, alumni, and friends that we are able to provide our students with the kinds of opportunities that will help them succeed while at UCLA and later in their personal and professional lives beyond the university. Thanks to your thoughtful philanthropy, we have been able to sponsor a broad range of programs, expand the curriculum, and help fund travel and study abroad programs in Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, Nantes, and Rome.

We have expanded our curricular and programmatic collaborations with the Thomas Mann House in the Pacific Palisades to include joint seminars, conferences, and student research projects. In addition, recent collaborations include the Italian Cultural Institute, the Getty Research Center, and the Wende Museum. 

Our student-run clubs continue to thrive, and they organize film and food festivals throughout the academic year as well as events and speakers. This year, we will sponsor the French club, the German club, the Italian club, and the Scandinavian Club. We are also excited to organize the 2023 French Job Fair, an event designed to connect French-speaking UCLA students with internationally recognized organizations and companies. In addition, our graduate students are organizing a two-day, international conference on “Speculative Futurities, Past and Present” (Fall 2023).

Finally, we are pleased to announce three new hires: our new Director of Language Programs, Dr. Nina Bjekovic; Elsa Duval, lecturer in French; and Dr. Églantine Colon, lecturer in French. 

We thank you for your continued support of ELTS! 

Todd Presner
Department Chair
European Languages & Transcultural Studies