James M. Kaplan
Dr. James (Jim) M. Kaplan grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts and graduated the University of Massachusetts with a degree in French in 1964. He received the Ph.D. in French literature from the University of California Berkeley in 1971. He became acquainted with Sweden as a long-time camp counselor for the Swedish YMCA. He did doctoral research at the University of Uppsala, Sweden and later published books and articles on eighteenth century French literature based on manuscripts that he found in Swedish archives. After receiving his doctorate Dr. Kaplan worked for several years as a U.S. Department of State interpreter. He began teaching French and Swedish at Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1975 where he became active in the Swedish-American community. He founded the Swedish Cultural Heritage Society of the Red River Valley in 1976 and served for a long time as its president. He arranged many community programs, film series, exhibits, lecture series, concerts, etc., funded by the Arts.