IAUNRC is working diligently on our responses to the current Title VI grant’s competitive priority by collaborating with Community Colleges, Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges.
On March 1, in partnership with the International Studies Consortium of Georgia, the IAUNRC presented a faculty development workshop “Understanding Central Asia” to faculty from several Minority serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. These presentations included:
"Central Asia: from Russian Conquest to Nations" by Dr. Marianne Kamp,
"Central Asia: Geography, People, Religion" by Dr. Noor O'Neill,
"Central Asia: 1991 to Present" by Dr. Kristoffer Rees,
and "Geopolitical Competition in Central Asia: Three Decades" by Dr. Marianne Kamp.
Recordings of these presentations are available to watch on our Event Recordings page.
The Center has also supported the Virtual Conference on Security, Diplomatic and Economic Issues in the Persian Gulf on February 9. Two out of four presentations were about Iran.
We also supported the Virtual Conference on China, Russia, and the United States: Competition and Cooperation on the Global Stage on April 12.
The events were attended by more than 100 faculty members.
Since Fall 2021, three IU Title VI centers CeLCAR (Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region), IAUNRC, and CSME (Center for Studies of the Middle East), IAUNRC have been sponsoring free Kurdish language courses at Nashville State Community College for those who regularly interact with Nashville’s large Kurdish population or want to communicate with their Kurdish neighbors. Many participants work in high-impact professions like education, emergency medicine and social services. You can watch and read more about this initiative in this video article by Nashville News Channel 5 (watch here) and in this article by IU News (read here).
On April 11, the Indiana University Northwest campus, an MSI in Gary Indiana, celebrated Asia Day. 340 students, faculty and campus leadership were introduced to Mongolian music, throat singing, and vocals by Tuvergen, a Mongolian band invited and sponsored by IAUNRC.
Image description: The band Tuvergen plays at Asia Day at IU Northwest on April 11, 2024.
2023-24 marked the second year of IAUNRC’s support for Gerald Maki, a faculty member from Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana, and Muborak Kattaboyeva, formerly Termez state University and currently Tashkent University in Uzbekistan as they collaborate and coteach classes at their respective institutions, allowing students to virtually engage with each other. IAUNRC also supported Muborak in her participation in a UniCEN international virtual exchange development program with Maki. Read more about their experience here.