The East Asian Studies Center successfully secured two major grants this month, for a total of nearly $2.2 million, from the U.S. Department of Education under its Title VI Comprehensive National Resource Center (NRC) and Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship programs. This funding for 2018-2022, along with collaborations with a host of units at OSU and across the State of Ohio and beyond, will allow EASC to effectively address its mission of training undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at OSU and of promoting East Asian knowledge among K-16 teachers and students as well as among military, government, and business sectors and the general public in the Midwest and the nation.   

The NRC grant, $233,300 annually for four years, will support carefully developed projects that address the mission and priorities of the Title VI program. Such projects include promoting East Asian knowledge and expertise through support for courses, conferences, lecture series, cultural events, professionalization workshops, teacher training, and collaborative activities with community colleges and minority-serving institutions.

The FLAS Fellowship grant, $313,500 annually for four years, coupled with matching funding in the form of tuition awards from the Graduate School, will allow the Center to support undergraduate, graduate and professional students who are studying Chinese, Japanese, Korean or other East Asian languages and area studies.

“We are thrilled to be able to secure Title VI funding again to promote East Asian studies on campus and beyond,” said Etsuyo Yuasa, director of the East Asian Studies Center and associate professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures. “With this funding, we can support close to 100 student fellowships, about 200 lectures and conferences, numerous courses, and other activities over the next four years.”

Yuasa reported that the support of the Office of International Affairs, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Graduate School were instrumental in successfully securing these grants.

“The application process is extremely competitive and we are grateful for the many faculty, students, administrators and community partners who worked with us to develop these exciting projects that will come to fruition in the years to come,” Yuasa said.