The American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) Minnesota Chapter has named Sarah Buchanan as the Minnesota Chapter Teacher of the Year for the 2025-26 school year.
The AATF Minnesota French Teacher of the Year award recognizes educators who inspire their students and promote the French language and culture.
Buchanan, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, was selected for her outstanding commitment to teaching excellence, curricular innovation, scholarship, and student mentorship in French and Francophone studies.
Buchanan views teaching as a way to help students develop understanding, curiosity, and respect for diverse people, ideas, and cultures. Serving as a facilitator of learning in more than 30 courses that she has designed over the years, she prioritizes student engagement, critical thinking, and openness while creating dynamic classroom environments through a wide range of instructional approaches.
Equally central to Buchanan’s work is her dedication to mentoring students–providing sustained academic and professional guidance that supports their success during and beyond their university experience.
One former student, Dr. Tiwaloluwa A. Ajibewa, PhD, MS, of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, reflected on her impact:
“Not only does Dr. Buchanan teach the texts and provide insight through her subject-matter expertise, but through her scholarship and teaching, she gives students the opportunity to delve deeper and make connections between the themes of the texts and our present context. Beyond being an excellent teacher, Dr. Buchanan is a remarkable human being who seeks to empower her students. I can honestly say that I would not be the scholar I am today without the impact and opportunities she provided for me.”
Buchanan is also a leader in experiential learning to allow students to connect academic study with meaningful cultural immersion. She has directed study abroad programs to France, Morocco, and Senegal, assisted with a political science study abroad course in Egypt, and led the French Club’s annual trip to Winnipeg for the Festival du Voyageur for over 12 years, with another trip scheduled for February.
In addition to her teaching, Buchanan is an accomplished scholar and active contributor to the academic community. She regularly writes and secures grants, serves as a keynote speaker and guest lecturer, and continually updates course content to reflect emerging scholarship. Her innovative teaching efforts have been supported through grant funding.
Buchanan is the author of Emergent Voices of (North) African Immigrant Women and Their Daughters in French Literature and Film: Challenging the Inside, Seeking Outside, Passing Through Walls (2025, Liverpool University Press) as well as of multiple articles on African cinema.
Buchanan will be honored this spring at the annual AATF – Minnesota Awards dinner.