Tuesday, March 25, 2025
ASEEES Urges Support for the US Department of Education Title VI Program
Amidst rapid changes to the federal funding and institutional structures buttressing higher education in the United States, the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies reaffirms its commitment to its mission to advance knowledge about Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. As the foremost organization dedicated to the study of these regions, ASEEES has advocated for the sustained support of international studies in the United States since its founding in 1948.
ASEEES is gravely concerned about the impact of cuts to federal funding on international studies and foreign language training in higher education in the United States. Federal funding has long been an essential source of sustained support for our field in large part because the American government has recognized the importance of developing specialized expertise on Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Drastic cuts in federal funding threaten to undermine expertise on this important region, a process with devastating long-term political and economic implications.
The Association is deeply troubled by the indiscriminate dismantling of the Department of Education, which administers foundational programs for international studies and foreign language education. The National Defense Education Act of 1958 provided federal funding for area studies centers as an explicit effort to strengthen national security in regions of geopolitical importance. Under Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Department of Education has for decades administered an array of congressionally-mandated programs to build U.S. expertise on the geographic regions of the world, including Eastern Europe and Eurasia, through dedicated centers, fellowships, and other programming for education, research, and public engagement.
Since then, the Title VI-funded National Resource Centers (NRC) have provided advanced training in international studies, creating experts who bring valuable knowledge to sectors ranging from education and research to international commerce to foreign policy. Advanced foreign language training is essential for developing this deep expertise. Under Title VI, the Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship Program serves as a crucial means by which American undergraduate and graduate students develop advanced language skills. Other vitally important programs and centers for our field include the Fulbright-Hays Program, the Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBERs), and the Language Resource Centers (LRCs).
The contributions of these programs and centers to building U.S. expertise on Eastern Europe and Eurasia over multiple generations cannot be overstated. Likewise, the impact of their termination or significant disruption should not be underestimated.
ASEEES strongly urges support for the continuation of these essential sources of federal funding for international studies and foreign language training. We call on the Secretary of Education and members of Congress to work to preserve the Title VI program, a critical means by which the U.S. fosters necessary expertise on the regions of the world.
Signed,
ASEEES Board of Directors
ASEEES has also signed the joint ACLS-Phi Beta Kappa Society statement on the Executive Order to dismantle the Department of Education and the AHA statement on indiscriminate cuts to the federal government.
Title VI-funded National Resource Centers/FLAS-Granting Programs for Eastern Europe and Eurasia
Arizona State University — The Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian & East European Studies
Harvard University — Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Indiana University — Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute
Indiana University — Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center
Stanford University — Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
The Ohio State University — Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies
University of California, Berkeley — Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
University of Illinois — Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center
University of Kansas — Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies
University of Michigan — Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — The Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies
University of Pittsburgh — Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies
University of Texas at Austin — Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison — Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia