Controlling Title VI Centers

[Russell Valentino]

Dear Colleagues,

What the Chronicle article failed to note was that two of the seven
positions on the proposed advisory board are mandated to come from national
security agencies.

This is indeed a startling development for all NRCs (not just those dealing
with the Middle East) and for all the other programs funded through Title
VI, of which there are many. The CIC institutions (the Big Ten universities
plus the University of Chicago and the U. of Illinois at Chicago) are in
the process of drafting a collective letter to our congressional
representatives, expressing support for the refunding of the International
Studies in Higher Education Act, but also strong concern over the advisory
board as currently proposed.

Here is a small sample from the proposed letter (by way of Bill Reisinger,
the University of Iowa's Associate Provost for International Studies):

"We believe the current legislation leaves open the possibility that the
Advisory Board could intrude into the academic conduct and content of
higher education and could impinge on institutional decisions about
curriculum and activities.  Indeed, the powers vested in the proposed
Advisory Board make it more of an investigative, rather than an
advisory, body."

The bill has passed the House and is on its way to the Senate, where we
hope it will encounter some sensible opposition from supporters of academic
freedom in higher education.

Other letters, therefore, collective and individual, still have a chance of
making a difference in the process.

Russell Valentino
Associate Professor
Director, Center for Russian, East Europe, and Eurasian Studies
http://www.uiowa.edu/~creees
University of Iowa
tel. (319) 353 2193



At 09:05 AM 10/15/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>Has anyone else noticed the following article in the last Chronicle of
>Higher Education? What will it mean for title VI centers concentrating on
>Russia? Or is it all about Middle Eastern Studies?
>
>House Panel Approves Bills on Graduate and Area Studies
>By STEPHEN BURD
>
>Washington
>A U.S. House of Representatives committee has unanimously approved a bill
>that would give the federal government greater oversight over federally
>financed international-studies programs at American colleges.
>
>The House Committee on Education and the Workforce also approved
>legislation that would renew several programs that provide aid for graduate
>education.
>
>The international bill (HR 3077), which was passed late last month, would
>create a new advisory board that would monitor foreign-language and
>area-studies programs, which are supported under Title VI of the Higher
>Education Act. The lawmakers took the action after hearing complaints from
>conservative scholars that some of the centers supported by these programs
>have an "anti-American" bias.
>
>Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the Michigan Republican who heads the House
>subcommittee that drafted the bill, said that creating the advisory board
>was necessary "to ensure the appropriate use of taxpayer funds." College
>leaders and lobbyists, however, said the allegations of bias were
>inaccurate, and they have worried that the new board would be used to
>interfere with curricular decisions on their campuses.
>
>The committee's Republican leaders tried to alleviate those concerns by
>adding language to the bill restricting the advisory board from "mandating,
>directing, or controlling" the curriculums of such college programs.
>
>College lobbyists welcomed the change. "This is a significant improvement,"
>said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president for government and public
>affairs at the American Council on Education. "The changes will help ensure
>that the advisory committee is in fact an advisory committee, and not a
>censorship committee."
>
>College lobbyists were also pleased that the committee's leaders agreed to
>pare back the activities that the board could undertake. For example, the
>original bill gave the board the authority to "annually monitor, apprise,
>and evaluate the activities of grant recipients," including conducting "an
>evaluation of the performance of the grantees."
>
>The bill that the committee approved late last month does not include that
>language. Instead, it directs the board to "monitor, apprise, and evaluate
>a sample of activities" supported by Title VI, with the goal of "providing
>recommendations for improvement of the programs."
>
>Despite the language changes, some college officials said they still feared
>that the advisory board could be used to intimidate university scholars to
>toe an ideological line. "The advisory board could easily be hijacked by
>those who have a political ax to grind and become a vehicle for an
>inquisition," said Gilbert W. Merkx, vice provost for international affairs
>at Duke University.
>
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