by Bonnie Butcher
The Halle Foundation in Atlanta has recently awarded $75,000 to the UWG German program in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Every penny of this grant will go to students in the form of study abroad scholarships.
Drs. Felix Tweraser, John Blair, and Muriel Cormican with study abroad participants in Oldenburg, Germany.
The Board of Trustees voted to fund the grant in full.
“The Trustees were impressed by the strength of the university’s German program and are pleased to have an opportunity to support your work,” said Marshall Sanders, Administrator of The Halle Foundation, in an official announcement.
The Oldenburg Study Abroad Program was initiated in 2006 by Dr. John Blair and Dr. Muriel Cormican. Since then, UWG students have traveled each summer to Oldenburg, Germany.
“We're thrilled, of course, that the Halle Foundation has recognized the strength of our German program here at UWG in this way and has so generously helped us to make an already very affordable 10-week study abroad program even more affordable and accessible to more students across the disciplines,” said Dr. Cormican. “Every penny we can invest in student achievement and success is a penny well spent.”
Students are able to earn up to 13 credit hours during a 10-week immersion session. This opportunity allows students to make tremendous progress both linguistically and toward graduation.
While abroad, students are given the chance to learn new perspectives. This experience emerges students into the world beyond their front door. In addition to immeasurable knowledge that comes with international travel, study abroad students learn language, literature, culture, and film in the classroom.
For each student who travels to Oldenburg, a student from Oldenburg is able to come study at UWG for an equivalent immersion experience in the U.S.
The exchange program has worked to develop connections between German and U.S. students through buddy programs, tutoring jobs, and extracurricular activities.
The Halle Foundation “supports new and innovative projects which further its mission of promoting knowledge and friendship between the people of Germany and those of the United States.”
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