The Center of Excellence seeks to foster interdisciplinary research and collaboration with scholars who work across the university on topics related to France and the French-speaking world or involving cooperation with French educational institutions.
It aims to engage students, scholars, and the general public through lectures, conferences, colloquia, and other events on campus. Board members represent a wide variety of schools and departments across the university, in the humanities, the social sciences, and the arts, including the Watson Institute and the Brown Arts Initiative.