International Studies earns University millions

Alicia Dobson/ Contributing Writer
news@fiusm.com

The University recently received  $2.3 million in grants to enhance programs in international studies.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded the school three Title VI grants, which support foreign language and international studies, to help the University continue their work in Latin America and Africa.

Divided between two university centers, the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) received $2.1 million dollars and the center for African and African Diaspora Studies received $187,000.

Each center will use the money to create more scholarship opportunities, expand class variety, incorporate language requirements and train Miami-Dade teachers in their respective subject areas.

“They [The U.S. Department of Education] give us the designation of a National Research Center for having shown a strong commitment to — broadly speaking — to the study of, to the research of, to the teaching of, to the outreach of, in our case, Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Frank Mora, director of LACC.

“We were selected, one out of 18 or 19 centers, throughout the country and we are very proud because this is the first time that FIU LACC is being awarded on its own — so that’s important,” said Mora.

Every year, for the next four years, LACC will use the money to implement a two–part plan of expansion.

First, the center will receive $306,000 every year to award undergraduate and graduate students with Foreign Language Acquisition Scholarships (FLAS).

The scholarship only requires students to take a course in Portuguese or Haitian Creole as well as at least one area studies course a semester relating to Latin American and Caribbean studies. The scholarship money goes toward tuition and includes a $1,500 stipend. The deadline to apply for spring 2015 is Nov. 21, 2014.

Second, by implementing a whole series of programming, including but not limited to, a number of outreach programs, training Miami-Dade County teachers in relevant area studies and languages and supporting visiting law professors, LACC will demonstrate why they are a NRC, deserving of the Title VI.

“It [LACC programming] not only engages the FIU community, but it engages the community outside of FIU as well,” said Mora.

The African and African Diaspora Studies Program has major plans in motion as well.

They include hiring two part-time language professors to teach Swahili and Wolof, funding research trips to Africa for faculty members, developing about seven new Africa-oriented courses, and providing a $1,500 stipend to five students each year for participating in the study abroad program.

“The program from which we applied for the grant requires the applicant to develop connections with institutions locally so that the impact of the grant will not be limited to FIU, but will impact, as well, all the entities locally,” said Jean Rahier, director of the program.

As the director of the African and African Diaspora Studies program as well as a professor of anthropology and courses dealing with the diaspora, Rahier has dedicated his life to expanding the offerings in this area and is eager to spread awareness about the improvements to come.

However, faculty members are not the only ones who are passionate about Latin American, Caribbean and African studies.

Ashley James, a senior majoring in international relations and political science, speaks on behalf of the undergraduate point of view, by acting as the official undergraduate representative for the African & African Diaspora Graduate Studies Association.

“I definitely would like to see greater advocacy for these programs because we are often lost in the background to larger programs like in the STEM department or Hospitality [and Tourism Management] department,” said James.

In addition to increasing advocacy, James expressed the need for a greater variety of classes and more scholarship funds, and thanks to the Title VI, she will begin to see those improvements emerge.

For more information about LACC or the African and African Diaspora Studies program, visit https://lacc.fiu.edu/ or http://africana.fiu.edu/.