Ohio University Receives Federal Grant
to Expand International Outreach Across the State
Contact: Stephen Howard, (740) 593-1840, and Elizabeth Collins, (740) 593-0392.
ATHENS, Ohio (June 5, 2000) -- A U.S. Department of Education grant totaling $1.14 million over a three-year period will allow Ohio University's African Studies and Southeast Asian Studies programs to expand their outreach across the state through educational programs for teachers, students and residents.
The grants are tied to the programs' recent designation as National Resource Centers. Ohio University is the only higher education institution in the state to receive National Resource Center status for both African and Southeast Asian studies. Other schools receiving grants in both areas are the University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Berkeley; and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Ohio University and Ohio State University, which received grants in four other program areas, are the only institutions in Ohio to receive the special status.
"This award goes only to programs the U.S. Department of Education considers the strongest in the nation, so it's like a seal of approval from the federal government to receive this status," said Josep Rota, associate provost for international programs at Ohio University.
The mission of the African Studies and Southeast Asian Studies programs is to provide students, scholars and community members opportunities to connect with other cultures through language, education and research. Program directors plan to use the grant money to expand educational outreach to classrooms and businesses across the state.
"Africa has played an enormous role in our own history, not just for African Americans, but it's influenced the whole culture," said African Studies Director Stephen Howard, who recently returned from a month in Cape Town, South Africa. "We need to remind ourselves we're only a minority of the world's population, and we should introduce our kids to what's going on in our diverse world."
Howard and Southeast Asian Studies Director Elizabeth Collins want to do this by educating teachers, students and business leaders throughout the state about international issues. Projects involve introducing African and Southeast Asian studies courses in Ohio high schools and educating teachers about different cultures so they can better relate to international students.
Grant money also will be used to offer more foreign language courses at Ohio University, conduct research and finance collaborative projects between Ohio University and institutions overseas, such as the university's new relationship with the University of Indonesia to perform joint research on inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflict.
The programs' expansion will strengthen international education at Ohio University as a whole, said Provost Sharon Brehm.
"Ohio University has a long and distinguished tradition of active involvement in international education," she said. "The recent awards demonstrate that this tradition is very much alive and well today. We hope to continue the excellent work in these programs and to strengthen the entire array of international programs at Ohio University."
In August, African Studies will receive $193,000 and Southeast Asian Studies will receive $188,000 for the first year of grant funding. Grant amounts for the second and third years are projected to be the same. During the last six years, African Studies' National Resource Center status has been shared with Ohio State University, with Ohio University splitting the grant money with Ohio State.
"This time, we decided to go it alone because our programs have reached a level of strength and stability that allowed us to submit a successful application on our own," Rota said.
Both programs also received U.S. Department of Education funding for Foreign Language and Area Studies student fellowships. African Studies will receive $75,000 and Southeast Asian Studies will receive $129,000.
