Federal cuts sting UW's global-language classes

For years, the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies has taught an ever-changing menu of the hottest languages of the developing world — languages such as Arabic and Urdu, Hindi and Chinese. The school is one of the country's largest recipients of federal funding for less commonly taught languages and international study.

But federal cutbacks approved in spring will deal a blow this fall to the school's ability to offer the classes and accompanying studies in global culture, economics and history.

And the funding could be eliminated next year, crippling programs that help students who eventually go to work in national security, global health and the environment.

"Cuts to this funding would have devastating effects" on the Jackson School, Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell wrote in a strongly worded letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan in May.

Despite the Democratic senators' plea, the school will lose about $800,000 in federal money, the result of a congressional budget deal for fiscal 2011 in which lawmakers cut 46 percent of funding for Title VI of the federal Higher Education Act for the upcoming school year.

UW's Foster School of Business's Global Business Center, also a recipient of the funding, will lose $200,000.

The cuts mean the Jackson School will offer fewer language classes this fall, especially advanced language courses, said Resat Kasaba, director of the program. It will cut its funding of K-12 outreach programs used to give classroom teachers a broader understanding of international issues, and will end relationships with overseas institutions.

Critics say the cutbacks are shortsighted. "The times call for deeper study of international relations, and we know the Jackson School is one of the best in the country," said Craig Gannett, chairman of the Jackson School's advisory board and a Seattle lawyer.

The reduction comes at a time when the roiling international economy and the Arab Spring revolutions underscore the importance of an in-depth knowledge of world regions and an ability to communicate fluently in other tongues, school supporters say.

"We need to understand virtually every corner of the world, and the only way we can really understand is if we can speak in their native language," Gannett said.

The Jackson School's language offerings have varied over the years, influenced by changing national-security needs.

Most recently, offerings of Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Korean, Arabic and Persian have been increased. The number of Arabic classes easily could be doubled: "They are always full, and there are always people who want to take it," Kasaba said.

The Jackson School — named for the late Sen. Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson — runs eight National Resource Centers at UW, each of which concentrates on a world region or takes a broader look at global studies. In most centers, language instruction is central to what students learn.

In addition to the federal money that supports the centers, federal money is awarded directly to students studying less-common languages, to cover the cost of UW tuition and fees. Those who receive the federal fellowships over the summer can travel overseas and get more intensive language instruction.

Fellowship awards were not cut this year because they already had been awarded, Kasaba said. But they are in jeopardy next year.

This fall, 64 fellowship recipients — mostly graduate students — will be studying Arabic, Persian, Chinese, Hindi, Russian, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese, among other languages.

The summer program "allows students to study relatively obscure languages or dialects that often aren't offered at their university," said Dean Chahim, a UW undergraduate who is majoring in civil and environmental engineering and is studying Dari, a dialect of Persian, in Tajikistan this summer.

"I'd have a very hard time finding a Dari instructor in the U.S.," he said.

Although Dari instructors are rare in this country, it is one of the most widely spoken languages in Afghanistan. Already, in a few short weeks of summer study, Chahim said he has doubled his understanding of Dari.

UW graduate student Ralph Riccio, who has a degree in marine and environmental issues, is going to Vietnam this summer to learn dialects used in the Mekong Delta. Riccio wants to help rural farmers find ways to raise shrimp more sustainably for the American market.

Americans have an insatiable appetite for cheap, foreign-grown shrimp, and aquaculture is a boon for Vietnamese farmers, Riccio said. But the farmers destroy mangrove forests to prepare their land for shrimp farming, and the ponds become so acidic after a few years that the land is nearly toxic.

There are also economic risks for the farmers, because shrimp raised under these conditions can be wiped out if disease hits.

In order to help, Riccio needs to be able to communicate in their language.

"Without language," he said, "I would not have anything to offer. If you can't get along in the culture, you're not really valuable."

Katherine Long: 206-464-2219

or klong@seattletimes.com

Information in this article, originally published Sunday, June26, 2011, was corrected Monday, June 27, 2011. A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to the program as the Jackson School of International Relations. The correct name is the Jackson School of International Studies.