Elizabeth Rohatyn, Médaille d’Or de La Renaissance Française

Elizabeth Rohatyn, committed to a public service career that spans more than half a century, has been central to the cultural, educational and philanthropic life of New York City, where her vision and leadership have helped transform public education, redefine the role of public libraries in our communities and set new standards for American cultural diplomacy.

Recognizing the great potential of technology in education, Mrs. Rohatyn founded Teaching Matters, Inc., in 1996, and is currently its Chair Emeritus. Teaching Matters is a nonprofit organization that works in New York schools to improve the use of technology in the classroom and train teachers to create and implement web-based curricula.

Mrs. Rohatyn also is Chair Emeritus of the New York Public Library, which she served for many years, including as chair of its board. When her husband, Felix Rohatyn, was U.S. Ambassador to France, Mrs. Rohatyn founded the French Regional & American Museum Exchange (FRAME), a coalition of 26 French and North American art museums that sponsors exhibitions, education programs and exchange projects. An international model of cultural diplomacy, FRAME has touched millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic.

In New York City, Mrs. Rohatyn also has served as Vice Chair of public television station WNET 13, and on the boards of New Visions for Public Schools, the Fund for Public Education and Lenox Hill Neighborhood House. She also has served on the New York Governor’s Commission on Education and on the Dean’s Council of Harvard University’s School of Education. In 2007, the French government promoted her to the rank of Officier de la Légion d’Honneur.

Jane M. and Bruce P. Robert, Médaille d’Orde La Renaissance Française

Jane and Bruce Robert were recognized by La Renaissance Française – Paris in October, 2011, principally in recognition of the couple’s endowment of The Jane M. and Bruce P. Robert Professorship of French and Francophone Studies at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. At the ceremony, the award was also presented to M. Abdou Diouf, Secrétaire Général of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, by Antoine Guerrier de Dumast, President of La Renaissance Française – Paris.

Mr. Robert has been active in Francophile projects for more than forty years. He has been a patron and participant in the Alliance Française, Sister Cities, American Friends of the Musée d’Orsay, Opera Lafayette, French Heritage Society and American Friends of Blérancourt. On a more direct level, in 1980 he accompanied Mrs. Robert on a high school exchange of French and American students, and in 1997 he organized and accompanied their son’s seventh-grade class to Toulouse, the Bourges region, and Paris.

Mrs. Robert, a former French teacher, has served as president or board member for many Francophile organizations, including the Federation of Alliances Françaises – USA. New initiatives include her role as a founding board member for the American Friends of the Musée d’Orsay and for St. Louis Language Immersion Schools, which offer full immersion programs in French and Spanish for disadvantaged students in the city of St. Louis. The French government has distinguished Mrs. Robert as an Officier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques and a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

Mary B. Emory, Médaille d’Or du Mérite Francophone

Mary Emory has an exceptional record of service to French cultural organizations. As president of the Alliance Française of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she oversaw unprecedented growth in membership and established and raised the organization’s first endowment fund.

Several of her local AF initiatives have served as model projects that have been adopted by other chapters in the United States. As a member of the board of directors of the Federation of Alliances Françaises – USA, she edited the Federation’s newsletter communicating with all the Alliances in the United States as well as editing the Federation’s magazine Le Mag. She then served as vice president of the Federation, chaired its annual meeting program, and hosted an annual meeting in her home city of Milwaukee.

In 2009, Ms. Emory became one of the founding members of American Friends of Musée d’Orsay, which she currently serves as secretary. This group supports the mission of the Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, which house one of the world’s preeminent collections of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early modern French art.

Ms. Emory has also worked to improve her city and state by serving as president of Milwaukee’s Skylight Theater; president of Milwaukee’s Friends of the Conservatory of Music; volunteer for more than 30 years for the United Performing Arts Fund; co-chair of the Silver Renaissance Campaign to renovate the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts; president of the Woman’s Club of Wisconsin; and member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Foundation board and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School for the Arts Grand Viennese Ball Committee.

Ms. Emory was recognized in 1999 by the French government as a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques.