Dr. Katharine (Kate) Harrington is originally from Beverly, Mass. She pursued her
studies at St. Lawrence University, Texas Tech University and ultimately earned a PhD
in French Studies from Brown University.

As a student, she spent a total of three years in France including a year in Rouen, and
then 2 years during her doctoral program working as a teaching lecturer at the
Université de Lyon 2. Her first full-time teaching position was at the University of Maine
at Fort Kent where she taught from 2004-2010. It was in Fort Kent, an Acadian, bilingual
community, where she was first introduced to the Franco-American presence in New
England. During her time at UMFK, she took students on trips to Québec City, served as
an active member of Le Club français and organized community events on campus
including an annual French film festival.

She began teaching at Plymouth State University in 2010 where she has served as
chair of the Languages and Linguistics department and the Tourism, Environment, and
Sustainable Societies academic unit. She teaches all levels of French language and
especially enjoys teaching courses on Québec, and Franco-American communities of
the US. Upon arriving in New Hampshire, she noticed the need for French language
resources for the many Québécois visitors who travel to the White Mountains each year.
Together with several community partners, she launched the Bienvenue au New
Hampshire initiative that helps businesses and tourism providers welcome French-
speaking visitors.

She has been involved with the Franco-American Center since arriving in New
Hampshire and has been on the Board of Trustees since 2017. She coordinates the
monthly Plymouth Prêt-à-Parler (formerly Plymouth French Conversation Group) and
serves as the chair of the FAC’s education committee. She was instrumental in bringing
the French Heritage Language Program to the state in 2023. She has served in an
advisory role to Manchester Public Schools in their lead up to launching an elementary
French immersion program in fall 2025.

She has served as the President of the New Hampshire chapter of the American
Association of Teachers of French since 2013. She is the current Past President of the
American Council of Québec Studies whose board she has served on since 2014.
She is the author of Writing the Nomadic Experience in Contemporary Francophone
Literature (Lexington Press) and has published articles in the academic journals:
Québec Studies, The French Review, Modern Language Studies, and Sites:
Contemporary French and Francophone Studies as well as in the edited volume French
All Around Us.

An avid hiker, cyclist and Nordic skier, reader, and traveler, she lives in Plymouth with
her husband and two teenage children.