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Freeman Foundation donates $1.3 million to strengthen Asian studies at St. Olaf

By Nancy J. Ashmore
January 22, 2002

NORTHFIELD, MINN. ? St. Olaf College, a perennial leader in international study, has received a grant of nearly $1.3 million from the Freeman Foundation that will support a new faculty position in Asian politics, cutting-edge technology for teaching and learning languages, and four other initiatives.

Provost and Dean of the College James Pence calls the grant ?a strategic gift that will greatly enhance the ability of our students to study in and learn about an area of the globe that is increasingly important politically, economically and culturally.?

The college has operated an Asian study-abroad program since 1966. However, ?the college came a little later to formalizing its program in Asian studies,? says Barbara Reed, chair of the Asian Studies Department. ?The advantage is that we?ve been able to be tremendously innovative over the past 10 years as we?ve developed our program.?

The Freeman grant, together with a Luce Foundation grant of $265,000 last year for a junior professorship in East Asian visual culture, ?is going to enable us to do things that few other institutions in the country are doing,? Reed explains.

The funds from the Freeman Foundation ? $1,277,565, paid to St. Olaf College over four years ? will underwrite six initiatives:

  • a new faculty position in Asian politics;
  • development grants ? up to four a year ? for study abroad, language study and other undertakings that will prepare faculty to include less prominent countries and cultures in their teaching about Asia;
  • a student exchange program between St. Olaf and an East Asian university;
  • the expansion of student access to Asia through scholarships;
  • new technology to reinforce classroom study of Japanese; and
  • improved Asian studies-related library resources.
?We?re working to set up a cohort-exchange program with a university in Vietnam or possibly Korea,? Reed says. ?It will pair a group of St. Olaf students with a group at the partner school. After half a year together in Vietnam or Korea, the groups will come to Northfield for another half year of study.?

The Freeman grant also provides for new technology resources, including handheld computers that assist students in practicing the 1,850 basic kanji (characters) that are considered essential to written Japanese. As they write kanji directly upon the devices? pressure-sensitive screens, a software program judges their accuracy and whether the students have used the proper stroke order in rendering them. Next year, improved audio capacity will be added to the mix, providing students with a language lab, in essence, that they can carry in their pocket.

?This program could revolutionize the technology of language acquisition when fully developed,? Pence says. St. Olaf ranks second in the nation among bachelor-degree institutions in the number of its students who study abroad, according to the Institute of International Education. The five-month ?Term in Asia? program takes students to Hong Kong, the People?s Republic of China, Thailand and Vietnam each year, and study/service programs in India and Indonesia have enabled students to further their studies while contributing to programs in rural health care, elephant/wildlife ecology, and education. In the interdisciplinary Asian Conversations program, entering students complete college requirements by exploring the cultures and languages of Asia on campus and on international programs.

The Freeman Foundation, established in 1992, is committed to increasing and strengthening the teaching of Asia in college and university classrooms. It is based in New York City.

St. Olaf College, a national leader among liberal arts institutions, prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering the development of mind, body and spirit. It is a residential college located in Northfield, Minnesota, and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college is recognized as one of the nation?s best values in higher education, providing personalized instruction and diverse learning environments. More than two-thirds of its students participate in international studies.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.