ASC Awarded Over $2 Million in Title VI Grant Funds
The African Studies Center (ASC), an affiliated center of Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, has been awarded National Resource Center (NRC) and Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) grants from the United States Department of Education. The center will receive just over $2.4 million for the 2022-26 grant cycle to support Africa-focused education, including African language instruction.
“We at the African Studies Center are incredibly excited at the receipt of these prestigious grants,” said Mark Storella, Pardee School Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and ASC Director. “They reflect the high regard of BU’s Africa scholarship, language, and outreach programs.”
NRC and FLAS grants, part of the Title VI program of the U.S. Office of International and Foreign Language Education, promote a greater understanding of countries and regions across the globe through foreign language and area studies instruction and research.
“I am delighted that the ASC has again been awarded Title VI funds,” said Michael Woldemariam, former Pardee School Associate Professor of International Relations and Political Science and ASC Director. “It’s a testament to the Center’s track record of innovative programming in African studies, all made possible through the effort of our tremendous faculty and staff. With these awards in hand, and under Ambassador Storella’s strong leadership, I have no doubt the ASC will continue to serve as a leader in African studies in the United States.”
These grants will help ASC increase the number of well-trained Africanists in diverse disciplines (including professional fields); the number of students with advanced fluency in 9 priority African languages; the number of students, teachers, and non-language faculty capable of reading and writing African Ajami texts; and the richness and volume of influential scholarship produced on Africa.
“For nearly 70 years, BU’s African Studies Center has maintained a record of excellence in African scholarship,” said Kevin Gallagher, Interim Dean of the Pardee School, Professor of Global Development Policy, and Director of the Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center). “These awards assure that the Center and the Pardee School will continue to lead in expanding global understanding of the vast continent of Africa, its history and cultures, and its expanding role on the world stage.”
Founded in 1953, BU’s ASC has provided a strong foundation in African studies to generations of university professors, economists, health workers, government officials, development personnel, diplomats, and numerous others. Learn more on the ASC website.