Longtime UJ Foreign Languages Professor Kate Stevenson Retiring After 40 Years

When Associate Professor of Foreign Languages Kate Stevenson sent her retirement letter to President Polly Peterson last October, she set in motion a reflection on more than four decades of opening doors to the world for University of Jamestown students. Stevenson will retire at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year after more than 40 years on campus.

Stevenson framed her career as intertwined with campus life under the section heading "A Life Intertwined with Jamestown [...] A Door Held Open" and she "expressed gratitude for her 'extraordinarily rich intellectual community' and the opportunity to work with 'dedicated colleagues and talented students from all corners of the globe.'" Those sentiments accompany her formal statement of mission: "I hope that my role on campus has been to hold a door open to the world of language learning and to train new generations of international communicators," she said.

The announcement arrives as International Week 2026 unfolds on the Jamestown campus, with events including one focusing on Japanese tea culture and a tasting demonstration of foods from Norway, France and Venezuela. The university said Professor Stevenson’s legacy "lives on" and is "a testament to the power of one educator’s vision to transform a campus into a global crossroads, one student, one language, one connection at a time."

Departmental leadership and program continuity are already in place for students planning courses or study abroad work next year. The Foreign Language Department continues to offer programs in German, French, Spanish, and Latin under the leadership of Professor Ernesto Fundora, who is named as leading the department as Stevenson prepares to depart.

Stevenson closed her retrospective message to the campus with a personal charge to students and colleagues: "Laugh and share love in as many languages as you can. And it will make you a happier person. And it will brighten your world." Her retirement marks the end of a 40+ year journey that the university highlighted alongside other campus items, including a Feb. 3 notice about a new Health Sciences and Graduate Center in Phoenix tied to a $7 million gift.

For students, faculty, and community members seeking schedules or celebration details, International Week events and arrangements related to Stevenson’s departure are posted through the University of Jamestown events office and the Foreign Language Department.