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Regular Session, 2012
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 61
BY REPRESENTATIVE NANCY LANDRY
A RESOLUTION
To commend Dr. A. David Barry for his outstanding accomplishments and singular
contributions upon his retirement as dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the
University of Louisiana at Lafayette and to express gratitude for his exemplary term
of dedicated and highly productive public service.
WHEREAS, it is appropriate to commend Dr. A. David Barry upon his retirement
as dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL), a
position in which he has served with great dedication and effectiveness since 1994; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Barry completed his doctor of philosophy degree in French at the
University of California in 1975, and it was in 1976 when he joined the faculty of ULL, then
the University of Southwestern Louisiana, as an assistant professor in the Department of
Foreign Languages; and
WHEREAS, in 1980, Dr. Barry became the program director for North American
Francophone Studies at the university and secured a grant of nearly three hundred fifty
thousand dollars from the National Endowment for the Humanities for the purpose of
expanding the French studies program as well as establishing bachelor's, master's, and
doctoral degree programs in French; and
WHEREAS, in 1983, Dr. Barry was selected as the executive director of the Conseil
International d'Etudes Francophones, a capacity in which he served until 1989; in 1984, he
received the knighting rank of Chevalier from L'Ordre des Palmes Academiques, the highest
honor bestowed by this order, and in 1985, he was selected as a distinguished professor at
the university; and
WHEREAS, after building the Francophone Studies Program, Dr. Barry was selected
as the head of the Modern Languages Department in 1988, and that same year, he was ENROLLEDHR NO. 61
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selected to serve on the Governor's Commission on French and the Governor's Special
Commission on French Acadians, on both of which he served until 2005; and
WHEREAS, in 1990, Dr. Barry was selected as a Chevalier by Fondation CODOFIL
(Council for the Development of French in Louisiana) and chosen as chairman of the
Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities; in 1992, he received the Certificat d' Honneur
from the Conseil International d'Etudes Francophones; in 1994, he was appointed dean of
the College of Liberal Arts; and in 1998, he was selected as a member of CODOFIL; and
WHEREAS, as dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Dr. Barry has served with true
distinction, wisdom, and integrity; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Barry has also served on the Louisiana Poet Laureate Selection
Panel, as commissioner and vice president for the Bayou Vermilion District, as a committee
member for the Comite International des Etudes Creoles, as president of the Louisiana
Association for Bilingual/Bicultural Education and the CODOFIL Consortium of Louisiana
Colleges and Universities, as the executive director and president of the International
Council on Francophone Studies, and as an executive board member for the Louisiana
Endowment for the Humanities; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Barry will be profoundly missed at ULL for his remarkable
leadership and intellect and all of the incomparable gifts and talents that he has lent to ULL,
and he will continue to bring deep pride to the state and all of her citizens as a dignified
scholar and a true gentleman whose loyalty and dedication to his ULL have been inspiring
and unwavering; and
WHEREAS, Dr. A. David Barry merits highest commendation for the indelible mark
he has left on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and its students, faculty, and staff as
a truly exemplary educator and public servant.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Dr. A. David Barry for his outstanding
accomplishments upon his retirement as dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University
of Louisiana at Lafayette, does hereby record for posterity his remarkable service in his
thirty-six-year term of service at the university, does hereby express enduring gratitude for
his extraordinary contributions, particularly to Francophone studies, and does hereby extend
to him best wishes for full measures of success and happiness in all of his future endeavors. ENROLLEDHR NO. 61
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to Dr. A. David Barry.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES