Barry Jean Ancelet was born in Church Point, Louisiana. He graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) with a Bachelor of Arts in French in 1974. He continued his education at Indiana University, where he received his Master of Arts in folklore in 1977. He also received his Doctorate in Études Créoles (Anthropology and Linguistics) from the Université de Provence (Aix-Marseille I) in 1984. Dr. Ancelet served on the faculty of USL/UL Lafayette from 1977 until his retirement in 2016. He was a professor in the Department of Modern Languages Department, serving as chair of the department and as the first director of the University’s Center for Acadian and Creole Folklore, the largest compilation of media resources pertaining to these two south Louisiana ethnic groups. He was also the co-founder of the Tribute to Cajun Music in 1974, which became the annual Festivals Acadiens. He hosted the Rendez-vous des Cajuns live weekly music radio program on KRVS for more than a decade. He published several books and journal articles and received numerous awards. He also wrote poetry, published under the pseudonym Jean Arceneaux.