Category: News

IRIS NRC Honored with Prestigious Anthony J. Gradisnik Award for Exceptional Contributions to Language Education and Global Learning

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IRIS NRC is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the highly esteemed Anthony J. Gradisnik Award by the Wisconsin Association for Language Teachers (WAFLT). The prestigious award was presented to Essie Lenchner, IRIS NRC’s Assistant Director, at the WAFLT Fall Conference Awards Ceremony held on November 3rd, 2023, at the Hilton Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton, Wisconsin. 

The 2024-2025 Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) award application is now open!

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The application for the 2024-2025 Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships is now open. FLAS fellowships are funded by the U.S. Department of Education to assist students in acquiring foreign language proficiency.   IRIS NRC awards FLAS fellowships for Summer and/or Academic Year for the study of Arabic, Hebrew, Indonesian, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Swahili, …

UW-Madison Vice Provost and Dean for International Division to speak at US Department of Education Panel in Washington, DC.

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Dr. Frances Vavrus, Vice Provost and Dean of the International Division, University of Wisconsin- Madison will be in Washington DC in November as a guest of the US Department of Education. Dean Vavrus will be speaking at and moderating an in-person panel “Raise the Bar: Advancing Careers through Multilingual Education.” The November 15th panel will mark …

Peace Corps Volunteer Andrew Kline (UW-Madison Class of 2023) Blogs from Timor-Leste

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Recent UW–Madison graduate Andrew Kline (Linguistics and Middle East Studies) arrived in Timor-Leste in early October to begin his Peace Corps service as an education volunteer. During his time at UW–Madison, Andrew received a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship from IRIS NRC for the study of Arabic, and studied abroad in Amman, Jordan. …

Senior Audrey Thibert attends the Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellows Conference – October 13th-15th 2023 Washington, D.C.

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UW–Madison Senior Audrey Thibert joined over 40 other Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellows in Washington, D.C. for the Pulitzer Center’s 9th annual Washington Weekend. The three days of learning and community building centered around the work of Reporting Fellows from across the United States reporting on issues from global health and climate change to gender and …

Faculty Grants Available for Development of New First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs)

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The Institute for Regional and International Studies National Resource Center (IRIS NRC) is offering course development funds (up to $1,500 per grant) for faculty to develop new First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs) for Fall 2024 or Fall 2025. The FIGs should address topics related broadly to Human Rights, Global Peace and Security, Global Economy, International Education, …

UW-Madison Students Published in International Affairs Magazine

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IRIS NRC is proud to partner with the NGO Release Peace. Release Peace works together with local communities, other NGOs, women’s rights groups, and international organizations on projects focusing on armed violence and conflict prevention. They provide our students with the opportunity to get published in an International Affairs Magazine. The majority of Release Peace’s …

IRIS NRC Receives Wisconsin Association for Language Teachers (WAFLT) Anthony J. Gradisnik Award

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The Wisconsin Association for Language Teachers (WAFLT) is thrilled to announce that the 2023 recipient of WAFLT’s esteemed Anthony J. Gradisnik Award is the Institute for Regional and International Studies National Resource Center (IRIS NRC).  Established in 1998, this distinguished award commemorates the exceptional enthusiasm and advocacy for language education exemplified by Mr. Anthony J. …

IRIS NRC Statement on Recent Campus Events

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In light of recent events surrounding the deeply offensive racist video that is affecting the UW–Madison and surrounding community, we stand with the statement made by Deputy Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion, LeVar Charleston. The voice of one does not represent the many and we condemn racism and violence in its entirety. We stand with our …

Languages of the World Day was a hit with high schoolers!

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Languages of the World Day was held here at UW- Madison on March 1st. We are thrilled to hear of the amazing turn out and ability to see how impactful this event was to Wisconsin high schoolers. IRIS NRC was proud to co-sponsor such a successful event! We look forward to the continuing support of …