Thanks to federal funding cuts under President Donald Trump’s administration, foreign language departments at Wisconsin colleges and universities are facing a funding crisis.
These departments have relied on federal funding for over 60 years, and in March, the U.S. Department of Education dismantled the International and Foreign Language Education office, leaving no grant facilitator for language learning and international study, according to a Wisconsin Public Radio report.
Language studies remain important for jobs pertaining to national security in consular offices or with the Department of State and Department of Defense.
UW-Madison offers more than 60 languages for students to learn, and it’s a national leader in language instruction. While no solutions are in sight, UW-Madison held a town hall meeting for Big 10 language programs last week to share information and positive ways to move forward.
Dianna Murphy, UW-Madison Language Institute director, said it’s a difficult time for less commonly taught languages.
“The U.S. Department of Education recently terminated all Title VI grants for regional and area studies, international and foreign language education, that directly supported less commonly taught languages at many of our institutions in numerous ways,” Murphy said during the town hall.
Costs of instructors and instructional materials development were all affected by the cuts.
“Our nation and our students deserve access to opportunities to learn diverse languages,” Murphy said.
Some of the positive steps forward include building regional collections between Big 10 universities, proactive and strategic models for sharing less commonly taught courses and a revenue-generating model for sharing less commonly taught courses.
