We are pleased to announce that Amanda Smith has joined the EU Center as its new Academic Coordinator. She will teach seminars in European Studies, advise students, and oversee the Center's academic offerings. Amanda is completing a Ph.D. in French Cultural Studies at the University of Illinois and works on Black feminisms and Blackness in popular culture in France and in the Francophone African diaspora. While pursuing her doctorate, she has mentored graduate students, taught French language, and developed classes on leadership and professional development. She earned an MA in French Literature & Pedagogy from the University of Cincinnati and studied abroad at the Université de Caen. She speaks French and Spanish.