Russian and Portuguese language flagship program grants renewed

The Language Flagship is a national initiative to change the way Americans learn languages through a groundbreaking approach to language education for students from kindergarten through college.

Through a network of 31 Flagship Programs at 21 institutions of higher education across the U.S., The Language Flagship graduates students who will take their place among the next generation of global professionals, commanding a superior level of proficiency in one of ten languages critical to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness.

The University of Georgia is home to two Language Flagship programs: the Portuguese flagship program, established in 2011 and the Russian flagship program, established in 2018. Both UGA flagship programs were announced as among the applicants selected for renewal in the 2020-2024 Language Flagship cycle:

The selected institutions have demonstrated the commitment to producing high proficiency students ready to become the next generation of global professionals.  Grantees represent a diverse set of institutions, both small and large, rural and urban, Senior Military Colleges and Minority Serving Institutions.  The Language Flagship builds on the success of strong language programs by supporting classroom and extra-curricular efforts that encourage communication, collaboration and a shared approach to excellence.

These programs are led by faculty and staff in the Franklin College departments of Romance Languages and Germanic & Slavic Studies, and the Mary Francis Early College of Education, who have worked diligently to build the capacity to offer exciting new global opportunities for our students.

“While the success in the renewal of the Portuguese and Russian Flagship programs is a testament to the outstanding leadership of the two directors, Dr. Robert Moser and Dr. Victoria Hasko, credit also goes to instructors, tutors, and program staff who are all invested in realizing the programs’ ambitious goals," said Martin Kagel, A. G. Steer Professor and Associate Dean in the Franklin College. "The multi-year grant moreover reflects UGA’s commitment to study abroad and the global literacy of our students. The best way to engage with political heavyweights like Brazil and Russia is to learn to read their culture and be linguistically proficient to communicate our values, norms and traditions in Portuguese or Russian. This is what the Flagship education provides.”

The ongoing success of the programs, the collaborative nature of these instructional efforts and the strength of global engagement at the university have combined to embody our commitment to international experiential learning. Congratulations to these programs on their continued success.