Event Description
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI program, known at its inception as the National Defense Education Act. Title VI, a response to the Cold War and the launch of Sputnik, recognized the need for the United States to develop a stronger and broader capacity in foreign language and international and area studies in order to be effective in the modern era. Title VI was later incorporated into the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Three programs included in the original 1958 legislation continue today: the National Resource Centers (NRC) program, the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (FLAS) program, and the International Research and Studies (IRS) program. Designed to improve secondary and postsecondary teaching and research, train specialists, and better the public’s understanding of other countries, the program has been critical to advancing international education in the United States.
UC Berkeley has participated in Title VI since its inception in 1959 and today receives $3.35 million per year from the program. These funds are used to finance core campus teaching and research priorities as well as to support graduate students across many disciplines. The campus is proud to host Title VI funded centers and institutes.
In recognition of the importance of Title VI programs on campus, UC Berkeley’s Title VI Centers are hosting an event to commemorate the program’s 50th anniversary.
Schedule
Welcome:
Charles Eckman, Associate University Librarian and Director — Collections
Keynote Speaker:
George Breslauer, Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost
Panelists:
Justin Brashares, Assistant Professor, ESPM
Kay Corcoran, Instructor, 6th Grade History and Language Arts
Andrew Jones, Associate Professor, East Asian Languages & Cultures
Osamah Khalil, Doctoral Candidate, Department of History
Closing:
Harley Shaiken, Class of 1930 Professor and Chair, Center for Latin American Studies