Four international area studies centers at Penn are strengthening their hold on the world's social and literary studies thanks to National Resource Center funding awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Grants lasting for three years were assigned to the African Studies Center, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Middle East Center and the South Asia Center. Each center has already won these grants in previous years, but this was the first time that all four were honored simultaneously.
"It all gelled together very nicely for us," Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Walter Licht said. "All four were at a peak in both the quality of the people we brought in and the coverage given to the disciplines."
Every three years, Congress awards these grants through Title VI legislation on the basis of proposals submitted by centers across the country.
Each center planned its proposal around the interests for which it is most known -- the African Studies Center, for example, is renowned for its interest in health issues and practices, while the Center for East Asian Studies builds upon its interest in political economy.
Thanks to these grants, the centers plan to continue their efforts to increase the number of faculty members and courses, sponsor outreach programs to local high schools and community colleges, better compensate faculty and guests for travel expenses, organize colloquia on topics of interest to students and extend the number of titles available for their area of study in the University library.
Last June, the Center for East Asian Studies was awarded $445,000 per year -- $200,000 will be used for seven, yearlong Foreign Language and Area Study fellowships as well as four summer fellowships for graduate students.
"The goal is to help people become really proficient at a high level in our target languages -- Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Korean," Center Assistant Director Paula Roberts said.
One of the few undergraduate centers for East Asian studies in the nation, the center has won the grant for the third time, mostly due to its faculty's reputation for excellence and its focus on economics.
"Without the grant, we wouldn't be offering two-thirds of the courses," Center Director Cameron Hurst said.
Because of increasing interest in the region, the Middle East Center was awarded the largest grant. Each year, the center will receive $250,000 for program and administrative costs -- half of which will be dedicated to library acquisitions.
Another $250,000 was assigned for graduate student fellowships -- which is double the amount received the last time the center won the grant.
Center Director Robert Vitalis said that the funding was increased because "9/11 and the wars focused D.C.'s interest in these less common languages."
The South Asia Center will be receiving $212,240 per year, with the possibility of seeing this sum increase -- or decrease -- during the three years.
"Some of the money will be used to bring people to campus for conferences and lectures, help supplement some of our own salaries... and support the South Asia forum, as well as performance events," Center and Administrative Coordinator Jody Chavez said.
Founded 54 years ago, the center is the oldest South Asia institution in the country, priding itself on both its respected faculty and the construction of "the finest library resources for this area in the country," Center Director Michael Meister said. "We're very happy to have gotten the grant -- to show what the next 54 years are going to be like."
