Note: This information was last updated April 23.
Federal funding for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia – one of the country’s leading international area studies centers – is at risk. We’re sharing what that means, why it might matter to you, and how you can help support our mission at this critical juncture.
Why Does Federal Funding Matter to CREECA?
- CREECA is one of eight Department of Education-funded HEA-Title VI National Resource Centers (NRCs) at UW-Madison, which is home to more NRCs than any other university in the country.
- The National Defense Education Act of 1958 provided federal funding for area studies centers as an explicit effort to strengthen national security in regions of geopolitical importance. Under Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Department of Education has for decades administered an array of congressionally mandated programs to build U.S. expertise on the geographic regions of the world, including Eastern Europe and Eurasia, through dedicated centers, fellowships, and other programming for education, research, and public engagement.
- CREECA is one of just 14 NRCs in the country focused on Eastern Europe and Eurasia.
- As such, CREECA’s three-part mission consists of promoting faculty research across a range of disciplines; supporting graduate and undergraduate teaching and training related to the region including through Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships; and serving as a community resource through outreach activities for K-12 teachers and students, other institutions of higher education, and the general public.
- CREECA is one of just eight organizations nationwide awarded Department of State Title VIII awards for 2024-2025.
- Since the passage of the 1983 Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act, Congress has charged the Department of State with funding American universities, institutions of higher education, and non-governmental organizations to help develop and maintain critical expertise about the countries of Eastern Europe and the independent states of the former Soviet Union. Since 2016, CREECA has been awarded Title VIII funding to administer the Central Eurasian Studies Summer Institute (CESSI) in support of the government’s goal of developing American proficiency in the critical languages of the region, including Kazakh, Tajik, Uyghur, and Uzbek. In addition to Title VIII, CESSI is financially supported by a consortium of 19 area studies centers at 11 universities in the United States.
Why Are CREECA Programs at Risk?
CREECA’s ability to fulfill its mission has been hampered by threats to both Title VI and Title VIII funding this year. This has caused concern and confusion among many current and prospective FLAS and Title VIII fellows and UW-Madison students, as well as other members of the CREECA community.
- Beginning in late January, we received contradictory information from the Department of State about the status of our Title VIII grant, which supports full tuition and a living stipend for eight CESSI students. (Eight weeks of intensive language study at CESSI is the equivalent of one academic year of language learning!) After receiving a stop-work order notice in January and a termination notice in February, in early March we received a notice of the lift of our award’s suspension that was only confirmed in mid-April. The Department of State has yet to post the call for applications for 2025-2026 Title VIII funding that we normally would have received by now.
- Since the abolishment in March of the International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) unit of the Department of Education, whose staff supported our Title VI-funded programs, we are awaiting clarification on the fate of our current and future FLAS and NRC funding. That’s the funding that would allow us to:
- grant up to 8 2025-2026 academic year and future FLAS Fellowships (full or partial tuition support and a generous living stipend) supporting undergraduate and graduate students studying Czech, Kazakh, Persian, Polish, Russian, Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian, Ukrainian, and Uyghur, and Turkish/Azeri;
- support K-12 and community college educators and students through our outreach programs including the annual Engaging Eurasia Teacher Fellowship, ACTR Olympiada of Spoken Russian, professional development workshops, curriculum development, book clubs, and Wisconsin International Resource Consortium (WIRC) programs;
- and host a variety of public events both on and off campus including our weekly lecture series featuring UW-Madison faculty, U.S. and international scholars and journalists, U.S. diplomats, and more; panel discussions on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and programs like the 2024-25 Bodies in Focus series; film screenings, concerts, and seasonal festivities.
What Can CREECA Supporters Do?
Have the programs we offer with the support of federal funding impacted you as:
- a current or emeritus faculty member at UW-Madison or elsewhere?
- a current or former UW-Madison undergraduate or graduate student?
- a recipient of a Title VIII or Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship?
- a K-12 or community college educator (teacher, librarian, or administrator)?
- a student or instructor at the Central Eurasian Studies Summer Institute (CESSI), or a member of the CESSI Consortium?
- a current or former Engaging Eurasia Teaching Fellow (EETF)?
- a community member who has benefited from our public programs, including the weekly lecture series, panel discussions, film screenings, concerts, or other activities such as the Nauryz Central Eurasian Spring Festival?
If so, we’d be grateful if you would share your story with us. Such testimonials from beneficiaries of our programming are essential as we work with UW-Madison partners and national peer networks to advocate for the continuation of federal funding in support of CREECA’s mission. Please consider sharing your voice via this form, which gives you the option of remaining anonymous. (Stories entered may be summarized, excerpted, and shared publicly.) If you’d prefer to speak with a CREECA team member directly, please don’t hesitate to be in touch.
With sincere thanks for your consideration,
Dr. Irina Shevelenko, Faculty Director, idshevelenko@wisc.edu
Dr. Jennifer Tishler, Associate Director, jtishler@wisc.edu
Sara Lomasz Flesch, Assistant Director, lomaszflesch@wisc.edu