Gift Funds Teaching and Research of Portuguese Language, Cultures
Gift Funds Teaching and Research of Portuguese Language, Cultures
December 2011
The Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal, through the Regional Bureau of the Communities, recently provided $54,000 in funds to promote and support the teaching and research of Portuguese language and Lusophone cultures at Columbian College. Dean Peg Barratt welcomed Maria da Graca Borges Castanho (left in photo), the Azores regional director, and other dignitaries from the Azores community to campus to sign the Memorandum of Understanding establishing the new initiative.
"This is an important moment for GW and the Government of the Azores," said Barratt. "Portuguese is spoken by 2.5 million people worldwide, and we are pleased to be able to broaden our language and cultural opportunities through the support of the Azores community."
The gift will establish classes, conferences, symposia, and other scholarly activities at Columbian College. In addition, funds will be used in in combination with university funds to support a new professor in the Department of Romance, German, and Slavic Languages and Literatures to teach, conduct research, and encourage interest in the language and culture of the Lusophone Atlantic world, the Azores, and the Azorean Diaspora.
