FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. –Ka Zeng, an associate professor of political science and the director of Asian studies in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, has won a grant of $113,575 from the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen Asian studies at the University of Arkansas. The grant, awarded under the Department of Education’s 2008 Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language program competition, will be used to create a minor in Chinese with a business concentration and to develop the existing Asian studies minor into a major.

“The Asian studies program has had a sustained growth in enrollment over the last several years, but a lack of resources has prevented us from developing a minor in Chinese and a major in Asian studies. Creating a dual degree will remedy this situation,” said Zeng.

The grant money will be used to support faculty training, create a new faculty position in Chinese language and increase the number of Asian studies course offerings. In addition, federal funding will be used over the next two years to develop a new speakers series that will foster awareness and knowledge of Asian languages and cultures across the campus.

“Overall, I expect that federal funding will result in a more rigorous Chinese language program and a more integrated interdisciplinary program in Asian Studies,” Zeng said.