U.S. Ed. Dept. pulls funding from program

East Asia studies set back The U.S. Department of Education denied funding for graduate fellowships in the University's East Asia Program last week, Chairperson Ludo Rocher confirmed yesterday. The University will not be able to reapply for funding until 1996, he added. The Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies applies for Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) grants every three years, but the Department of Education awards only a limited number to colleges across the country. "[It is] an indication that the competition was rougher than before," said Japanese Studies Professor William Lafleur. Lafleur said funding is vital in recruiting graduate students to study at the University. His department is planning to ask the College of Arts and Sciences for the total amount of funding lost, he said. "We hope to know by the middle of next week," he said. Professors in the program said last night that staff issues in the department diverted future funding. "I think the main reason for the decision in Washington is [that] we don't have enough faculty," Lafleur said. A number of other issues were also looked at by the Department of Education panel, Lafleur said. "One of the reasons we have not gotten any funding is because we have not gotten the [East Asian] Center set up," Lafleur said. The center, to be located at the University, will attract funding in the future, he said. It should be completed before the University applies for funding again in 1996. The department also plans to add faculty members, possibly next fall. Dissertation student Peter Lorge said other aspects of the program may not compete with programs at the best schools. "The East Asia Library is not a great research library compared to, say, Princeton or Harvard," Lorge said. Although a student in the department blamed the loss of funding on School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens, faculty members insist the problem is not the fault of administrators. "I must say sometimes the decisions of these [Department of Education] panels are very unpredictable," Rocher said. Controversy erupted this week when Leonard Reuter, a graduate student in the South Asia program, posted a message to an Internet newsgroup blaming administrators for deliberately denying the program attention. The letter, which circulated throughout the department, angered a number of professors. Associate Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Nancy Steinhardt called it "a very inaccurate letter." "This was blown out of proportion," Rocher said. "He wrote it as if the whole program was falling apart." Lafleur said he does not know the exact value of the fellowships that have been cancelled. "It's significant for each individual," he said. Stevens did not return phone calls placed to her home last night.