School of Languages, Literatures & Cultures to hold inaugural convocation

LAWRENCE – An inaugural convocation Tuesday, Sept. 1, will mark the formal launch of the University of Kansas School of Languages, Literatures & Cultures (SLLC).

The convocation will take place at 3:30 p.m. in the Kansas Union Ballroom. Guest speakers include university leaders as well as representatives of regional, national and international partnering organizations. The Honorable Victor Jackovich, first U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to Slovenia, will give the keynote address. Currently enrolled language students of all grade levels will be recognized as the inaugural cohort.

The SLLC was established in fall 2014 and proves the critical importance of language and culture offerings at KU.

 “The school demonstrates the increasing importance of preparing students with language skills and deep cultural knowledge, which has become essential for employability of our students in an ever more complex, globalized world” said Marc Greenberg, first director of the SLLC.

The school represents five core departments — East Asian Languages & Cultures, French & Italian, Germanic Languages & Literatures, Slavic Languages & Literatures and Spanish & Portuguese — as well as 13 affiliated departments and centers: African & African-American Studies; Anthropology; Art History; Center for East Asian Studies; Center for Global & International Studies; Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies; Center for Russian, East-European & Eurasian Studies; Classics; English; Humanities and Western Civilization; Kansas African Studies Center; Linguistics and Religious Studies.

At KU, more than 40 languages are taught on a regular basis as well as courses on culture, literature, history and politics connected with many of those languages. This number puts Kansas in a rare category with a wide range of offerings unparalleled in the Great Plains and well beyond. KU is a national leader in the study of foreign languages, offering more languages than any other university in Kansas or in the Big 12.