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Grant establishes Language Training Center at IU to train Department of Defense personnel

For Immediate Release Jul 3, 2019

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies has announced a $970,000 grant to establish a Language Training Center program, which is administered by the Institute of International Education on behalf of the Defense Language and National Security Education Office.

The Language Training Center will provide language, regional expertise and culture training for United States Department of Defense personnel. The Hamilton Lugar School is a national leader in area and international studies and promotes understanding of global issues informed by a deep knowledge of history, culture and language.

“This award is a testimony to the growing national recognition of the Hamilton Lugar School and Indiana University’s commitment to languages and area studies,” said former Ambassador Lee Feinstein, founding dean of the Hamilton Lugar School. “The generous grant validates the school and university’s support to deepen its commitment to the study of languages and area studies, at a time when national trends are in the other direction, with universities shrinking or even eliminating language programs.”

IU’s program, which will support members of the Indiana National Guard and U.S. Special Operations Forces, will be housed in the Hamilton Lugar School’s Language Workshop, which has offered continuous intensive critical language instruction for 70 years. The cross-disciplinary and cross-campus effort will also engage resources from the Hamilton Lugar School’s four departments, 11 Title VI regional studies and language resource centers and Project GO program, as well as IU’s eLearning Design and Services.

“Indiana University’s uniquely broad and deep capacity in language and regional studies expertise is matched only by its proficiency in globalizing education and curriculum,” said Hilary Kahn, assistant dean for international education and global initiatives. “We look forward to meeting the challenge of training a wide range of personnel – including military linguists, intelligence analysts, special operations forces and foreign area officers – to be globally ready.”

Indiana University offers more than 80 world languages, the most of any university in the country. The university’s Language Training Center program will provide instruction in a range of languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Russian, with expertise and culture training on regions such as Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, Northeast Asia, South America and the Caribbean.

The Hamilton Lugar School is named for former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton and the late former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, both revered Hoosier statesmen and foreign policy voices. The school is committed to creating leaders who celebrate differences and seek shared understanding.

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