The Latin American studies programs at ASU and UA announced Tuesday that they received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
The Arizona Consortium of Latin American Studies, which includes programs from ASU and UA, will use the money to enhance the study of Latin America at both universities and in their respective communities.
The Department of Education said they hope the three-year grant will make the Arizona Consortium one of the top centers for Latin American studies in the nation.
Tod Swanson, director of the Center for Latin American Studies at ASU, said, "The grant will increase the status of the center and make it one of the elite among the 16 others in the nation."
The funds also will provide fellowships to recruit the top graduate students from Latin America to ASU and support the study of Portuguese and Quichua languages at the University.
"With the grant money, we can provide scholarships to graduate students who want to study Portuguese and Quichua languages," Swanson said.
Most importantly, Swanson said the key element of the grant would create an outreach program for K-12 schools to improve the teaching of Latin American subjects.
"We are planning on hiring an outreach coordinator to help connect our expertise on Latin America with these schools," he said.
Swanson said an outreach program is necessary to educate the citizens of Arizona about Latin America.
"We are experiencing a tremendous demographic shift, and the economy of Arizona is increasingly tied into Latin America," he said. "We need to catch up."
Swanson said ASU has 87 faculty members work one way or another with Latin America. "We need to find a way to connect with schools to make our research a resource," he said.
Another project that will be funded through the grant will be the development of a Mexican diploma course, the press release said. The course will provide the community with all aspects of Mexican history, including art and literature.
This is the second three-year grant the ASU program has received from the Department of Education, and Swanson said it could reapply for the grant at the end of three years. During the reapplication period, the progress of the Latin American studies program at the University would be re-evaluate.
Reach the reporter at pamela.j.coffman@asu.edu.
