Biography

Alfred J. Guillaume, Jr., Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of French at Indiana University South Bend. Dr. Guillaume came to IU South Bend in the Summer of 1999, from rural Northern California where he previously served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Humboldt State University. A seasoned academic administrator, he has held administrative positions at Saint Louis University as Academic Vice President and at Xavier University of Louisiana as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Guillaume received his Ph.D. and A. M. from Brown University in French Studies and completed his undergraduate work in French and Spanish at Xavier University of Louisiana. He has studied in Canada, Mexico, and France. He was a Fulbright Teaching Assistant in Marseille, France and a fellow of the prestigious Kellogg National Leadership Program. He has received research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and from the Carnegie-Mellon Humanities Research Grant. Additionally, he has participated in the Educational Leadership Program of the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation and the Harvard Leadership Seminar. He is currently a fellow in the Society for Values in Higher Education. A veteran of the Vietnam era war, Dr. Guillaume was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star. Dr. Guillaume’s scholarly interest and publications are in Francophone literature of the Americas and Africa with particular interest in the literature of Louisiana and the free people of color. He has taught French and a wide range of courses in French literature from the seventeenth to the twentieth century as well as Francophone literature of Africa and the Caribbean. His dissertation centered on the influence of the French symbolist poet, Charles Baudelaire on the African poet and statesman, Leopold Sedar Senghor. As a university administrator, Dr. Guillaume’s work has centered on curriculum innovations, the inter-disciplinarity of teaching and learning, the development of general education curricula, assessment, strategic planning and linkages to budget development. His focus is and has been on the effective delivery of academic and student support services that enhance learning. He believes firmly in student-centered and learning-centered education that brings both faculty and student together in collaborative teaching and learning partnerships. As an educator, Dr. Guillaume promotes learning that engages students to participate actively and responsively in the tenets of a democratic society. Dr. Guillaume is active in civic engagement and is an advisor to and board member of numerous organizations including the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association, St. Joseph Medical Center Mission and Identity, the St. Joseph Community Foundation, St. Joseph Hospital Faithful Lives Committee, the South Bend Symphony, WVPE, and United Way. He has recently been selected to serve on the national board of the American Field Service (AFS). He has traveled extensively in Europe, Canada, the Middle East, the Far East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Dr. Guillaume is married to Melanie Smith-Guillaume, a high school French teacher. He and his wife enjoy cooking international food, traveling, reading and ball room dancing. Dr. Guillaume has two sons and two step-children living on both coasts and the Midwest.