 A charismatic public figure, Domengeaux was often at odds with detractors, who criticized his reliance on international teachers as well as his emphasis on continental French to the exclusion of Cajun French.For his efforts to save the French language in Louisiana, Domengeaux received an honorary doctorate from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, the Order of the Legion of Honor from the French government, and the Order of the Crown from Belgium, among numerous other citations.On November 11, 1986, coinciding with Veterans Day, Lafayette Mayor William Dudley "Dud" Lastrapes and Governor Edwin Washington Edwards proclaimed "Jimmy Domengeaux Day".