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DTSTAMP:20251204T200943
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20251205T130000
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SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:II Event. Languages Summit
DESCRIPTION:Friday\, December 5\, 2025\n1:00–4:00 PM\nAssembly Hall (Fourth Floor)\, Rackham Building\, 915 E. Washington St. Ann Arbor\n\nPublic Program at https://myumi.ch/5kx9r\n\nVisit http://myumi.ch/8q8pZ to participate via Zoom (registration required).\n\nThe University of Michigan (U-M) has long been a national leader in foreign language learning\, supported by an unmatched infrastructure that includes language departments and resource centers across the university\, extensive international library holdings\, internship and fellowship opportunities for language and cultural study abroad for undergraduate and graduate students\, and a stellar faculty of LEO lecturers and tenure-track professors whose teaching and research reflect global perspectives.\n\nFor decades\, the International Institute (II) has been an integral part of this infrastructure\, hosting six National Resource Centers (NRCs) and six Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) centers funded under Title VI of the U.S. Department of Education. These programs have provided vital resources that sustain U-M’s excellence in world languages\, including a broad array of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs). They have allowed the II to offer significant support for language study\, study abroad\, international internships\, and research opportunities for U-M students.\n\nOn September 10\, 2025\, the U.S. Department of Education summarily canceled its Title VI funding\, stating that the program was no longer “…consistent with Administration priorities” and with “advanc[ing] American interests or values.” With this notification\, the Department prematurely terminated a four-year grant three years into the contract\, and informed the principal investigators (PIs) that it would not seek Title VI funding from Congress in future budgets.\n\nThis rescission\, resulting in a 20% cut to the II’s annual budget\, has broad ramifications across the university. Title VI funding directly supported instruction in Armenian\, Filipino\, Indonesian\, Khmer\, Tamil\, Thai\, Turkish\, and Vietnamese\, covering salaries for nine lecturers who taught 54 unique courses over the past two years\, for a total of 79 classes offered. Beyond this immediate budgetary cliff\, the loss of the Title VI ecosystem – including FLAS grants for undergraduate and graduate students\, and NRCs in Area Studies –  threatens U-M’s leading role in the teaching of world languages.\n\nHow can we protect and nurture that role with or without federal funding? What resources does U-M harbor\, what obstacles does it face\, and what opportunities can we identify for sustaining the rich tapestry of language study in all of its dimensions? The Languages Summit will bring together faculty\, staff\, leadership\, and stakeholders from across the university to share information\, discuss challenges\, develop strategies\, and secure the future of languages at U-M.\n\nSome guiding questions around which we seek to structure the conversations include:\n\n▪︎ How does U-M define and communicate its commitment to the teaching\, learning\, and study of\, and in\, the broadest array of languages – arguably a key plank in the very notion of “the university”?\n\n▪︎ Where do we see the biggest challenge or obstacle to our work\, whether now or in the foreseeable future?\n\n▪︎ Given the most recent releases of DeepL\, Grok\, and Apple’s “Live Translation” AirPods\, what is the argument for studying languages? How do we approach languages—as skill\, as tool\, as cultural competence\, as life-changing experience\, and/or as object of study? Where do we think our students are on this question?\n\n▪︎ What actions should the university take now to ensure a sustainable future for languages in all their diversity at Michigan?\n\nThe event will combine short\, focused presentations from representatives of different units around campus with ample time for collective discussion. We hope you can join us.\n\n- - -\n\nCosponsors: II Centers & Programs (African Studies Center\, Center for Armenian Studies\, Center for Emerging Democracies\, Center for Japanese Studies\, Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies\, Center for Middle Eastern & North African Studies\, Center for Russian\, East European & Eurasian Studies\, Center for South Asian Studies\, Center for Southeast Asian Studies\, Copernicus Center for Polish Studies\, Donia Human Rights Center\, Global Islamic Studies Center\, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies\, Nam Center for Korean Studies\, Program in International & Comparative Studies\, Weiser Center for Europe & Eurasia)\, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures\, Department of Classical Studies\, Language Resource Center\, Department of Linguistics\, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures\, University of Michigan Library\, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures\, Department of Middle East Studies\, Department of Afroamerican and African Studies\n- - -\n\nAccommodation: If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you\, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Email: iimichigan@umich.edu
UID:141087-21888118@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/141087
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Advocacy,Asian Languages And Cultures,Discussion,Education,Language,Social Sciences,Study Abroad
LOCATION:Rackham Graduate School (Horace H.) - Assembly Hall (4th Floor)
CONTACT:
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