Arnold I. Davidson, Robert O. Anderson Distinguished Service Professor in Philosophy, Comparative Literature, Romance Languages and Literatures, and the Divinity School, was promoted to the rank of Officer in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques during a ceremony on November 4.

Graham Paul, Consul General of France in Chicago, hailed Davidson as “a true modern humanist, a champion of interdisciplinarity and cross-cultural exchanges.”  

Napolean I first created Ordre des Palmes Académiques in 1808. Since its inception the honor has expanded to acknowledge eminent figures in education and academia both within and outside of France, honored for their service in advancing French culture and language through research and teaching.