Dr. Derakhshani is Professor of French in the Department of Modern Languages. She has a Ph.D in nineteenth-century French poetry, her first love, however since coming to Saint Mary’s College in 1989 her scholarly work has focused on the pedagogy of languages and intercultural studies. She has developed new courses in Francophone Studies and the Culture of Business in the French-Speaking World, and is currently working on a new course on French Cinema. She was instrumental along with several other colleagues across the campus for creating the Intercultural Studies Minor and has taught the Introduction to Intercultural Studies course every year since its inception. She was one of the co-writers of the proposal to the Lilly Foundation for the Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership and served as its Interim Director in its first year (2000-2001).

Dr. Derakhshani actively participates in her field by presenting papers, sessions, and workshops related to her research at conferences on a regular basis. With Dr. Julie Storme, she co-directed a highly successful institute for secondary teachers of French, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, at Saint Mary's during the summer of 1993, on "Integrating Language and Culture through Content-Based Foreign Language Instruction."

She has published an advanced-level French reader entitled Voix Francophones: le monde contemporain en textes, about which one reviewer wrote, "By encouraging [students] to reflect on such problems as ethnic stereotypes and the destruction of the environment and to examine their own sense of national identity, their religious beliefs, their prejudices, these texts will have an impact greater than their stated goals, and the many 'voices' that they record will resonate in the students' minds long after their course work has been completed." She has authored articles on teaching culture and on intercultural aspects of French cinema.

She was the recipient of the 1995 Saint Mary's College Multicultural Award and of the Indiana 1997 French Teacher of the Year at College Level Award.