Indiana University prides itself on teaching more languages than any university in the country. Now some teachers are fighting to keep their degree programs from being cut.
A petition with more than 400 signatures as of Thursday afternoon implores the IU president, board of trustees and Indiana governor to “Save the languages at IU!” It also sources testimonials from IU students, faculty and alumni.
A new law from the state legislature requires schools to cut degree programs that have granted a number of graduates below a certain threshold. Although many students take foreign language classes, not many major in them.
French professor Nicolas Valazza said the goal now is to increase awareness. He stressed the continuing importance of foreign language education.
“Students who are majoring in International Studies and maybe minoring or getting a certificate in French because they want to work in West Africa or in an NGO in Haiti, French is fundamental for them,” he said. “That’s one more reason to keep these programs, even if it doesn’t lead to many diplomas.”
IU volunteered to eliminate or consolidate 245 degrees, including BA, MA and PhD programs in German, Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and American Sign Language.
Those departments were all on display Thursday at IU Language Fest, where instructors courted freshmen with their offerings.
Incoming freshman Colton Ragsdale doesn’t take much convincing. He plans to major in linguistics and minor in German or Russian.
He said suspending language degrees would affect people wanting to get started in another language.
“In the United States, that's kind of like a big problem compared to the rest of the world, where we don’t really have as much of an incentive to learn other languages,” he said. “I feel like overall that could start to minimize people’s opportunities.”
The university is also suspending the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages, which has sent thousands of Indiana high schoolers to language emersion programs in other countries. It cites declining enrollment as a factor on its page.