Federal government awards FIU $2.3 million for work in Latin America and Africa


FIU has received three prestigious Title VI grants to fund programs and student scholarships in areas of strategic importance for the United States: Latin America and Africa.

“The U.S. Department of Education awards these grants in an effort to help our nation enhance its leadership role in the world and foster global engagement,” said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg. “These awards solidify our position as a solutions center that addresses themes of global consequence.”

A total of $2.3 million dollars were awarded to two centers in FIU’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). FIU’s Latin American and Caribbean Center has been funded with Title VI grants for years, in partnership with other universities.

“These competitive grants are a reflection of FIU’s long-term commitment to international studies and the strength of our faculty,” said SIPA Director John Stack. “This additional funding will enable us to continue providing students with top-quality opportunities to learn and contribute around the world.”

  • Over the course of four years, the Title VI Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowship (FLAS) grant will provide more than $1.2 million in funding for undergraduate and graduate students in SIPA’s Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) to engage in area studies and language training in Portuguese, Haitian Creole and Quechua, including study abroad programs. LACC received the largest FLAS award allocation for Latin America.
  • The Title VI National Research Center grant will provide LACC with $900,000 to expand its teacher training programs in partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami Dade College, and other minority-serving institutions with the objective of training professionals and pre-professionals to meet future U.S. critical needs, while raising awareness of Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • SIPA’s African and African Diaspora Studies Program was awarded a Title VI-Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language grant which provides the center with $187,000 over the course of two years to expand its undergraduate certificate in African Studies.