The U.S. Department of Education’s division of foreign language and area studies has awarded a grant of nearly $65,000 to NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Michael Aung-Thwin, director of the center, said the center filled out an application form for the grant. He said the center was in competition for grants with 10 other major Southeast Asian centers.

“Seven or eight centers got awards. We’ve been in business for 25 years with 27 faculty, recognized as one of the better centers in the U.S.,” Aung-Thwin said. “NIU’s center is strong on Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia.

“The grant is the largest FLAS (foreign language area scholarship) award we have ever received. We will be getting $64,888 per year for three years,” he said.

Most of the money will be used for foreign language fellowships for graduate students. Aung-Thwin said, “Five or six qualified students each year will receive full tuition, a book allowance and a stipend.”