Dear Latin Americanist & Caribbeanist Community,
In September, the U.S. Department of Education cancelled all National Resource Center (NRC) and Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships grants nationwide, stating that these programs are "inconsistent with Administration priorities" and supposedly "do not advance American interests or values." As a result, CLACS and the other NRCs at UC Berkeley will lose the fourth year of funding in the current grant cycle and will not be able to apply for future funding for these important programs.
The CLACS NRC program funds public events, student travel and research grants, publications, and staff positions, while the FLAS program provides crucial fellowships for students to study Latin American languages and area studies. The termination of these programs will have consequences far beyond the Berkeley campus, as their impact is multiplied through our collaborations with K-16 educational institutions which strengthen Latin American studies in classrooms around the country.
These cancellations are part of a broader systematic attack on Title VI. CLACS remains hopeful that the University will strengthen their support of our Center’s ongoing research projects. We will keep you posted.
CLACS and other Berkeley NRCs have appealed this decision, but we quickly received notice that the re-consideration had been denied.
In case you were worried, the Tinker Field Research Grants are a separate program and are not impacted by this decision. We will announce the 2026 Tinker Grant competition in the coming months.
We continue to host a vibrant program of public events this semester. We hope to see you at one of them!
Sincerely,
Natalia Brizuela
Class of 1930 Chair, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Professor, Spanish & Portuguese and Film & Media