Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships

The Program of African Studies (PAS) commits to be the sub-awardee partner with the Center for African Studies (CAS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if awarded U.S. Department of Education Title VI funding as a National Resource Center and for Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (FLAS). This partnership includes the commitment of PAS director, William Reno, and PAS staff, including the Associate Director, the Interim Director of the Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa, and the Program Assistant. The major categories of work to be carried out include improving instruction in African languages and language pedagogy training curriculum development across an array of disciplines and professional schools, strengthening library collections, FLAS funding for graduate and undergraduate students, and K-12 teacher training activities. In collaboration with CAS, PAS commits to building a strong connection between the two programs to make their resources more widely available to students and teachers throughout the Midwest. In particular, we look forward to growing each of our partnerships with the local community colleges Parkland College, Malcom X College, and Northeastern Illinois University over the next four years and beyond.