RELEASED: June 11, 2009

DANVILLE, KY—Morgan Smith, a rising senior at Centre College, was awarded a U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to study Arabic in Jordan this summer. The Department of State's Critical Language Scholarships (CLS) for Intensive Summer Institutes Program was launched in 2006 to increase opportunities for American students to study critical-need languages overseas. In 2009, the Department of State is awarding scholarships to more than 500 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students for the study of Arabic, Indic languages (Bangla/Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu), Turkic languages (Turkish, Azerbaijani), Chinese, Korean, Persian and Russian.

Smith designed her own major at Centre—Middle Eastern Studies.

"I'm also interested in spending more time abroad to experience cultural and language immersion," says Smith, who studied abroad in Turkey during the fall term of 2007 (click here to read Morgan's Travel Journal of her time in Turkey!). "My long term goal is to work towards a career in Middle Eastern diplomacy."

Smith and other recipients will spend seven to 10 weeks in intensive language institutes this summer in 12 countries where these languages are spoken. The CLS Program is part of a wider U.S. government effort to dramatically expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical-need languages. Participants in the CLS Program are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship period and apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.

The 2009 CLS Program received more than 5,400 applications. Students representing the excellence and diversity of a range of academic disciplines and U.S. colleges and universities from all 50 states were awarded scholarships in 2009 through a merit-based selection process. The CLS Program is fully funded by the U.S. Department of State. Recipients will participate in intensive language study and cultural immersion through a variety of integrated activities organized as part of the language institutes.

For further information about the CLS Program or the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, visit www.clscholarship.org and http://exchanges.state.gov.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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