GAINESVILLE, FL – The University of Florida International Center (UFIC) is pleased to announce that the Centers for African Studies (CAS), European Studies (CES), and Latin American Studies (LAS) have collectively received over $5.9 million from the U.S. Department of Education Title VI program, an increase of almost a million dollars compared to last period. The three area studies centers will support international research, public programming and training initiatives in collaboration with faculty across campus and experts across the world. They additionally provide student fellowships over a four-year period (2018-2022). Title VI grants are awarded in recognition of UF’s important contributions to building expertise on world regions and preparing students for international careers in government and the private sector.
All three centers were named Title VI Comprehensive National Resource Centers (NRC), and awarded Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship grants. The grants will continue supporting interdisciplinary examination of crucial regional issues and teaching about these world regions at UF, including the teaching of critical world languages. Grants also help to internationalize K-12 education through teacher education and training initiatives, and provide support for outreach about these world regions to other higher education institutions, business, media, and the general public. “This important and timely recognition of our core area studies programs is a very welcome and exciting contribution to our international mission,” said Leonardo Villalón, Dean of the UF International Center.
The FLAS fellowship grants from all three centers will support graduate and undergraduate students to pursue advanced proficiency in an array of less-commonly taught languages from the three world regions. The languages include Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Czech, Modern Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Akan, Amharic, Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba, and Zulu. Contributing to national expertise, these prestigious awards allow students to develop linguistic skills to conduct research and gain in-depth understanding of cultures and world regions.
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