BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University’s School of Global and International Studies has announced that 11 IU area studies centers and programs have been awarded grant funding for 18 separate programs under the Department of Education’s prestigious Title VI program.
A record number of centers housed within the School of Global and International Studies received funding in the 2018 round. The outcome is the best in the 60-year history of Title VI at IU and affirms the university’s vision for the School of Global and International Studies to strengthen and revitalize area studies on the Bloomington campus by bringing area and international studies under one roof.
The four-year grant totals $18.8 million. The school will receive $4.7 million in its first year. The awards include Foreign Language and Area Studies awards, which will provide fellowships and scholarships to more than 80 students in the first year.
“This truly extraordinary funding underscores Indiana University’s continuing leadership in strengthening our nation’s expertise in international education, languages and area studies that are critical for our nation’s competitiveness and international security,” IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. “Our multiple area studies and language programs – which cover almost every area of the world and are central to the success of our School of Global and International Studies – are ensuring that our students are globally ready and that they receive the knowledge, training and cultural understanding they need to serve as future diplomats, national security professionals, scholars, business leaders and other global practitioners. Along with our great strength in teaching and instruction in over 80 foreign languages, the most of any university in the country, these programs make IU one of America’s powerhouses in internationally focused education.
“We are extremely grateful for the strong support of our state’s government leaders, including Senator Todd Young and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, and others who have spearheaded the effort to ensure continued investment in these vital programs that meet our nation’s demand for global competency, engagement and innovation.”
This is the first year that Title VI applications were made with support and oversight from the School of Global and International Studies. With these awards, IU re-establishes its leadership in the Title VI community, along with many other top research universities.
“I congratulate our faculty and staff on this well-deserved national recognition of the school’s excellence in and commitment to area studies,” said former U.S. ambassador Lee Feinstein, founding dean of the School of Global and International Studies. “With 11 Title VI centers, side-by-side with our outstanding and dynamic international studies program, SGIS is charting the future of area studies and providing our students with the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills they need at this time of global change and challenge.”
Title VI centers are essential to the development of American expertise in critical languages and cultures, as well as to fostering international education. In awarding the grants, the Department of Education has designated eight School of Global and International Studies programs as National Resource Centers:
- The Russian and East European Institute, which has received such funding since its establishment in 1958.
- The African Studies Program.
- The Center for the Study of Global Change.
- The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
- The Center for the Study of the Middle East.
- The East Asian Studies Center, with the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
- The Institute for European Studies.
- The Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center.
In addition, the Islamic Studies Program and seven of the eight National Resource Centers received Foreign Language and Area Studies awards. IU’s Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region and National African Languages Resource Center also received four-year funding through Title VI as National Language Resource Centers.
A bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Young sought to put foreign language and international studies programs on more solid footing through the reauthorization of Title VI. The measure reflected Young’s longstanding support for Title VI programs since discussing their importance with McRobbie in 2010.
Hilary Kahn, assistant dean for international education and global initiatives, said, “This funding will not only advance the research, instruction and training in world languages and area and global studies at Indiana University but will also significantly serve the state and nation.”
She added that IU is proud to be among the leading research universities receiving Title VI funding. “The Department of Education awards Title VI funds to ensure institutions can serve as national resources. Indiana University looks forward to working collectively – and with partners across the country – to comprehensively strengthen the broader landscape of international education.”
