The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded Duke University $750,000 to support the school's 10 international and area studies centers, which provide resources for scholars and students who share interests in a particular region or international theme.This award will allow Duke to align and link the 10 centers more closely with university-wide priorities focused on global challenges; emphasize external collaborative networks and interdisciplinary theme-based approaches to problems; and encourage work by teams of scholars including faculty members, post-doctoral fellows and undergraduate and graduate students."This grant comes at a critical time for the international and area studies centers, and will support our work to bring the centers to a place of renewed importance and prominence in Duke's overall global engagement," said Provost Peter Lange. "As we seek to address global challenges in health, energy, the environment, and other fields, the centers will play a leading role in forging connections across campus and around the world."By integrating scholarly expertise from diverse fields and creating networks with external partners and collaborators, the international and area studies centers provide a framework to address key challenges in the United States and around the world.Duke's 10 centers are:-- Asian/Pacific Studies Institute (APSI)-- Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)-- Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies (CSEEES)-- Duke University Center for International Studies (DUCIS)-- Duke University Middle East Studies Center (DUMESC)-- Slavic and Eurasian Language Resource Center (SEELRC)-- Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS)-- Center for Canadian Studies (CCS)-- Center for European Studies (CES)-- Duke Center for Islamic Studies (DISC)Federal funding for international and area studies centers, provided through Title VI of the Higher Education Act, has been significantly reduced in the past two years. The Mellon Foundation has awarded targeted support to these centers in recognition of the funding challenges they face; Duke was one of eight universities invited to participate in the program."Our centers broaden Duke's curriculum and lay the foundation for Duke's many overseas activities through in-depth teaching, language instruction, and research on foreign areas and international themes," said Gil Merkx, director of International and Area Studies. "This grant could not have come at a better time, and we are very grateful to the Mellon Foundation."
