More funds for Russian, Mongolian and other international course offerings

WWU will soon expand its offerings in International Studies and modern languages thanks to a new grant from the Department of Education.

The $175,747 grant to the Center for International Studies means:

• More courses in International Studies: Plans include expanding the interdisciplinary minor in International Studies, adding six upper-division courses and expanding the emphasis on current global policy and Asia-Pacific studies.
• More intensive Russian-language offerings: Faculty hope to offer all three levels of Russian language courses each year instead of offering them in alternating years. The language sequence will also include a “Survey of Russian Civilization” course that will satisfy GUR requirements.
• New Mongolian language courses: WWU’s Wilson library is already home to one of the largest collections of Mongolian writings in the United States. And the grant enables Western to become one of the few U.S. universities offering Mongolian language instruction.
• More study abroad opportunities: The grant will fund an expansion of student and faculty participation in study-abroad and exchange programs.
• Visiting faculty for language courses: The new funds will enable faculty from Russia and Mongolia to come to WWU to teach language courses. A Mongolian language teacher could come from Mongolia to Western as early as spring quarter.

The two-year Title VI grant is from Education Department’s Undergraduate International Education Program.