Center for International Studies Receives Federal Grants Totaling $6.9 Million

The University Center for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh has received national recognition from the U.S. Department of Education in the form of more than $6.9 million in grants. 

The Department of Education has designated four Pitt centers as National Resource Centers: the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Russian and East European Studies, the European Studies Center, and the Global Studies Center, all of which are housed in the University Center for International Studies. The designation, which includes awards totaling $3,328,000 over four years, is given to centers at which faculty conduct research on specific world regions, international studies, or the teaching of less-commonly-taught languages; teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels and provide educational outreach to K-12 schools; work with overseas institutions of higher education; and engage in collaborative projects that address themes of global importance. 

“This is a terrific win for international studies at Pitt and a great way to recognize the talent and dedication of our faculty and staff who work so hard to globalize the University’s teaching and research,” said Lawrence Feick, senior director of international programs and director of the University Center for International Studies. “With four centers designated as National Resource Centers, we are in the top 10 universities in the country in the number of funded centers. And, we achieved this result in a competition in which there was a reduction of more than 20 percent in the number of funded centers compared to the previous 2010 competition.”

Pitt’s University Center for International Studies also was awarded Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships grants from the Department of Education for the Asian Studies Center, the Center for Russian and East European Studies, and the Global Studies Center. The fellowships, totaling $3,588,000 over four years, will provide tuition and stipends for outstanding undergraduate and graduate students with financial need who are engaged in area studies and world-language training. 

In addition, the African Studies Program within Pitt’s University Center for International Studies was awarded a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad grant for $54,965 for a study-abroad project in Tanzania during summer 2015. Designed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students interested in becoming teachers, the six-week Pitt in Tanzania program will immerse students in the culture and society of Tanzania and East Africa and provide advanced-level Swahili language instruction.

The National Resource Center program and Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships are authorized through Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and designed to help the United States enhance its leadership role in world markets, global engagement, and scholarship. 

The Fulbright-Hays Program dates to 1961 when the late U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright sponsored legislation for programs that aim to increase mutual understanding between the United States and the rest of the world.