Starting fall 2008, Portland State University (PSU), with funding from the National Security Education Program, will create a Russian Language Flagship program. By joining the Language Flagship, PSU becomes one of a handful of schools in the country providing innovative language programs for students who want to develop superior level language proficiency, while pursuing degrees in the academic major of their choice.

The PSU Russian Language Flagship program offers students a distinctive opportunity to complete a part of their general education requirements in Russian. Russian Flagship scholars will also be able to take courses in their major taught in Russian and to spend a year at the Russian Flagship Center in St. Petersburg. Students who complete the program will graduate with a Certificate of Advanced Proficiency in Russian.

"The PSU Russian Language Flagship has emerged as a direct consequence of the work that we have done with Portland Public Schools on their new K-12 Russian Immersion program," said Sandra Freels, PSU Flagship director. "We believe that the Flagship will make PSU a magnet for students who have completed intensive high school programs in Russian or who come from a Russian background and who want to maintain or improve their language skills while preparing for a profession in any field."

PSU plans to pilot the first two levels of the new program this coming fall. The pilot courses are available to qualified high school juniors and seniors, to new PSU undergraduate students, and to transfer and post-baccalaureate students from other schools. In order to be admitted to the program, students must know enough Russian to participate in classes. All Flagship scholars will receive scholarships for the coming year. Application forms are available at www.fll.pdx.edu. For more information contact Russianflagship@pdx.edu.

Language Flagship
The Language Flagship is a national effort to change the way Americans learn languages. The program offers language programs at schools across the United States and seeks to graduate students who will take their place among the next generation of global professionals, commanding a superior level of proficiency in one of many languages critical to U.S. competitiveness and security. The Language Flagship leads the nation in designing, supporting, and implementing a new paradigm for advanced language education.

Designed as a network of programs, the Language Flagship supports undergraduate and post-baccalaureate programs and a limited number of K-12 programs. Each Language Flagship is different. The first Language Flagship in Oregon, the University of Oregon's Chinese Flagship program, developed in conjunctions with Portland Public Schools, is the first national model for a K-16 language program. PSU joins the Flagship with Diffusion of Innovation funding in partnership with the Chinese Flagship program at the University of Oregon.

Portland State University
Portland State University (PSU) serves as a center of opportunity for more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Located in Portland, Oregon, one of the nation's most livable cities, the University's innovative approach to education combines academic rigor in the classroom with field-based experiences through internships and classroom projects with community partners. The University's 47-acre downtown campus exhibits Portland State's commitment to sustainability with green buildings, while many of the 120 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees incorporate sustainability into the curriculum. PSU's motto, "Let Knowledge Serve the City," inspires the teaching and research of an accomplished faculty whose work and students span the globe.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (#08-054)

Source: Sandra Freels (503-725-3539)
PSU Foreign Languages and Literatures