IU wins $16 million in grants

Sixteen million dollars has been awarded to nine IU international centers, the U.S. Department of Education's competitive Title VI program announced Friday. Distributed over the next four years, the funding will go toward general operating costs of the various centers and their research, as well as to fellowships for graduate students studying foreign language and global studies. \n"The importance of this is it really defines IU-Bloomington predominantly as a major international center because of the number and range of centers being awarded," said Patrick O'Meara, dean of international programs. "The programs to be affected range from Africa, business and East Asia ... So this is a way to see validated even further a lot of the University's programs."\nAs part of the Higher Education Act and appropriated by Congress, the Title VI program selects applications for grants through a tough peer review process consisting of experts in their respective fields, O'Meara said. \nWhile IU has received Title VI money before, only one center in IU-Purdue University Indianapolis was awarded funding last year. The recent announcement puts IU at a record-setting mark. O'Meara said he believes no other institution has ever received more Title VI funding than IU's 10 centers. According to a press release, only the University of Wisconsin matches IU's number of Title VI-sponsored centers.\n"It indicates the great strength that we have in the broad international studies area -- clearly the strengths that we've had for decades," said Michael McRobbie, interim provost, in a statement. "The centers really build on the University's investments in the departments. You can't get these centers without actually having top quality language and cultural studies programs." \nO'Meara said the government grants will go toward several different initiatives in a broad range of fields. He said research from various centers is extremely important and has significant contributions to the educational and global community. \nSome examples of what the funding will help accomplish, O'Meara said, range from research of Muslim Africa by the African Studies Department to the implementation of important foreign languages that are typically not widely taught, like Pashtu, one of two official languages spoken in Afghanistan.\nIn addition, he said the IU Center for the Study of Global Change will conduct significant research involving global defense. This will include the center hosting two conferences, one on the threat of terrorist attacks on ports and harbors and another on cyber security. The center also hopes to establish a certificate program in human rights studies. \nBesides the Title VI funds that go directly to the centers, O'Meara said money that will provide fellowships to graduate students who study foreign languages and cultures is just as important. \n"This is very significant because we are able to attract the best graduate students in the country through our prestigious and substantial fellowships," O'Meara said. \nHe added that about $1.73 million from each of the four years will go toward funding these fellowships, which include a stipend and full tuition. For the academic year, the fellowships will amount to about $27,000 for each student and for the summer about $6,500. The University will then provide the rest of the funds for tuition that Title VI funds do not provide. \nMcRobbie said in a press release that Title VI funds will also help establish IU as a leader in the international learning community and are part of the University's international strategic plan that he expects to conclude by the year's end. \n"The funding is, of course, very valuable to us," O'Meara said. "This commits funds to things IU would not otherwise fund. From conferences to strengthening small enrollment languages, this is of large strategic interest for IU"