Overview:
Haiti’s La Gonâve native Gerdine Michel Ulysse leads the new Creole and Haitian Studies minor at UChicago, advancing Haiti’s legacy in U.S. academia through cultural pride and sound pedagogy. Her journey from a modest upbringing to academic leadership reflects both Haiti’s unrealized potential and the transformative power of education and culture.
In 2006, Gerdine Michel—then a junior high school student—boarded a small motorboat from the coast of her hometown, Anse-à-Galets, La Gonâve, heading 30 miles northwest toward Port-au-Prince in search of a better education. Two years later, she made an even bigger leap, taking a flight to Wisconsin, United States, leaving behind her parents and eight siblings.
She also decided to leave her law studies, which she had started at the State University of Haiti. This time, she carried not just hopes and dreams in her luggage—but a mission.
Young Michel—now Ulysse through marriage—grew up on the 326-square-mile La Gonâve island, west of mainland Haiti, where there is no university or technical college. Sponsored by Compassion International with the backing of a USAID-funded scholarship, she came to the U.S., determined to study water resource management and return home to help her community.
In 2010, she earned an associate’s degree in Water Management Technology from Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin. And then, the native of Anse-à-Galets returned home as promised—but her path had only just begun. She returned to the U.S. a few years later to pursue further studies as more opportunities arose.
Today, she serves as an assistant instructional professor and program coordinator at the University of Chicago (UChicago), a position she has held since 2021. This fall, Ulysse leads the launch of a newly approved minor in Creole and Haitian Studies—one of only a few such academic programs in the United States. A program she has developed from scratch.
“I never thought I’d help shape a university curriculum in the U.S., let alone a program on Creole and Haitian Studies,” Ulysse told The Haitian Times.
As Haitian studies gradually gains momentum in American higher education—fueled mainly by renewed interest in Haiti’s revolutionary history, diasporic migration and the Creole language—Ulysse’s role is helping establish a national precedent.
Only a few other institutions, such as Duke University and the University of Florida (UF), offer dedicated Haitian Creole studies programs. Other notable schools include the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Central Florida (UCF), Tulane University, Florida International University (FIU), the University of Miami (UM), the University of Massachusetts Boston, Howard University, Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Kansas.
Most programs are part of broader Francophone or Caribbean studies, often without Haitian leadership at the forefront.
Building from scratch, honoring a worthy legacy
At UChicago, Ulysse has developed a seven-course curriculum rooted in language, Haitian literature and cultural studies. The program requires six courses beyond the second-year Haitian Creole sequence, with one advanced writing course and one culture-intensive language course. She describes the program as “an immersive experience that connects students with Haiti—linguistically, historically and socially.”
“Sharing my language and culture with others in the most scientific way, especially in Chicago, has brought great joy to my life. It feels as though I am fulfilling an important duty that has become a mission over time.”
Gerdine Michel Ulysse, Professor of the University of Chicago
“Beyond the classroom, the program partners with the Haitian American Museum of Chicago and the DuSable Heritage Association and hosts student events through the university’s Creole Club that showcase Haiti in its cultural and sociolinguistic context,” Ulysse said.
The academic program Ulysse has developed is cataloged at the university’s Humanities and Arts College, specifically in the Romance Languages and Literatures department—under ‘Minor in Creole and Haitian Studies.’ Alison James, who leads the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, also highlighted the important role that Ulysse continues to play in organizing numerous cultural activities engaging with the Haitian community in Chicago.
“Thanks to her dedication, the Creole program has rapidly taken shape and gained momentum, attracting a growing number of students from varied backgrounds,” James told The Haitian Times.
“[The Creole program] has organically found its place within the multilingual environment of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures and within the burgeoning field of Caribbean Studies—one of the University of Chicago’s strengths.”
On May 16, the Creole Club, established in 2022 hosted UChicago’s first annual Haitian Heritage Celebration, bringing together students, faculty, the broader Chicago Haitian community and friends.
“Sharing my language and culture with others in the most scientific way, especially in Chicago, has brought great joy to my life,” she said. “It feels as though I am fulfilling an important duty that has become a mission over time.”
Ulysse is a scholar shaped by many worlds. She holds a Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition from Carnegie Mellon University, along with a master’s in French from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. Her research and teaching are deeply anchored in sociolinguistics and cultural preservation.
Recognition for Ulysse’s work goes beyond a new minor in Creole and Haitian Studies
In 2025 alone, she was recognized with the University of Chicago’s prestigious Glenn and Claire Swogger Award for Exemplary Classroom Instruction and the Janel M. Mueller Award for Excellence in Pedagogy. In 2022, she received the Faculty Award from the African and Caribbean Students Association.
For students like Carole Saint-Hilaire, born to a Haitian father and a Jamaican mother, learning Creole has strengthened their ties to their family.
“I can perfectly communicate with everyone now. That’s something I’ll always cherish,” said Saint-Hilaire, now vice-president of the Creole Club at the University of Chicago, in a video message to The Haitian Times.
“Before, I wanted to be able to talk to my grandparents so badly, but I couldn’t.”
“I used to be so upset that I couldn’t understand my dad when he spoke Creole,” said a Haitian-Dominican student, who took Ulysse’s courses. “Now, he can’t whisper anything past me.”
“These courses empower our students to engage with the linguistic, cultural, and historical richness of Haiti and its diasporas,” Nikhita Obeegadoo, assistant professor of French and Francophone studies at UChicago told The Haitian Times
Obeegadoo, who is from Mauritius with French colonial ties, also speaks her homeland’s version of Creole.
“By highlighting the beauty and creativity of the Creole language, these courses de-center Eurocentric frames of reference regarding language,” Obeegadoo said.
“And by delving into the contexts of resistance and resilience that give birth to Creole, they teach students that one cannot truly know a language without knowing the people who speak it, or where they come from.”
Students without any Haitian heritage, such as Olger Carcache, have also taken an interest in the Creole courses offered at UChicago.
“Haiti has been pivotal in history for being the first free Black republic in the world,” Carcache said while explaining why he signed up for Creole classes.
“With Haitian Creole being the most widely spoken Creole in the world, it’s easy to appreciate Haiti’s culture, its cuisine, music, dances and how funny Haitian people are.”
Balancing brilliance and family
A mother of three children under 10, spouse, language program coordinator and resident head on campus, Ulysse wears many hats. She manages it all with clarity and intention.
“Balance is key,” she said. “I try to prioritize what is urgent. Many things are important at once, but not all are urgent.”
Her husband, Serge—an electrical engineer who works out of state—plays a pivotal role in that balance. “He always makes sure he is available to help, especially when I’m unable to be with the children due to my demanding schedule,” Ulysse said.
Rather than viewing these roles as separate, Ulysse’s ability to navigate them reflects the same purpose that drives her work in academia and community building: rising not just for oneself, but for others.
Expanding the mission: community, culture and civic engagement
Ulysse’s reach extends nationally. She’s presented at major conferences, including the Linguistic Society of America and the American Association for Applied Linguistics. She also regularly speaks at cultural galas and community forums, including events at the Haitian Consulate in Chicago and UChicago’s Black Convocation.
“Haitian Creole is more than a language. It is a vessel of memory, resistance and pride,” Ulysse said. “We must continue building spaces—inside and outside academia—where it is celebrated and studied.”
Now that the program the Haitian American professor manages has reached a significant milestone, the next step is to expand it further. Ulysse is dedicated to continuing her work on developing the program into a full major, strengthening community involvement and mentoring future leaders.
A goal that many Haitians nourish. “We don’t just rise for ourselves—we rise for our communities,” Ulysse said.
She views this milestone as just the beginning, not the end. For her, “language is a bridge”—and she’s still constructing it one step at a time.