Yesterday Howard announced that The Center for African Studies has been awarded National Resource Center (NRC) and Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) grants from the United States Department of Education to support Africa-focused education.

“We are delighted to continue to serve as a National Resource Center for African Studies,” said Krista Johnson, director of the Center for African Studies. “The increased allotment is a testament to Howard’s leadership in African studies, scholarship, language and outreach programs. We are uniquely positioned to expand our programming and impact, with an average of 700 student registrations in African languages per year, and an additional 1,000 student registrations in African studies courses.” 

The university says that the center will receive nearly $3 million for the 2022-2026 grant cycle to support Africa-focused programming, education and outreach, as well as African language instruction. 

The Center for African Studies at Howard is an expansive Title VI National Resource Center that supports and enhances Africa-related teaching. This includes African languages like Amharic, Arabic, Somali, Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba and Zulu, in the Department of World Languages and Cultures.

The center works to expand Howard’s legacy as a leader for America and the global community in relation to the study of Africa.  

The NRC and FLAS grants promote a greater understanding of countries and regions across the globe through foreign language and areas studies training and research. With Title VI funding, the center will expand the number of students with advanced fluency in African languages, increase Africa-related interdisciplinary programming, research, and curriculum development, and broaden outreach to K-12 schools, HBCUs, and community colleges.