Cornell's Department of Asian Studies has received a second grant from the Freeman Foundation to extend its initiatives in undergraduate education. The grant of about $380,000 will enable Cornell to provide additional course sections over the next three years to help meet the growing undergraduate demand for language instruction in Chinese and Korean.

The grant also will help expand activities related to the China and Asia-Pacific Studies (CAPS) major. The grant will support curriculum development, guest speakers in Ithaca, Washington, D.C., and Peking, and travel grants for students' semester of study at Peking University.

The Freeman Foundation has made clear its commitment "to increasing, strengthening and popularizing the teaching of Asia at undergraduate institutions." Previously, the foundation funded the expansion of Cornell Library's holdings for Korean studies; the expansion of Web-based teaching materials for language and non-language courses; development and implementation of K-12 "Education on Asia" programs, resulting in a teacher's advisory group and teacher workshops; scholarships for undergraduate students to participate in Cornell's Chinese and Japanese Full-year Asian Language Concentration; undergraduate awards for summer travel to Asia; and a "visiting artist in residence" program. All of these programs continue.