KU News Release

LAWRENCE — Six students at the University of Kansas have received Critical Language Scholarships through the U.S. Department of State to study critical-needs languages this summer.

The KU recipients are Zachary Austin Borth, a senior from Arlington; Mitchell Aaron Haverty, a junior from Lawrence; Halle Elizabeth O’Neal, a doctoral student from Springfield, Mo.; Rebecca Su Russell, a senior from Wichita; Rebecca Ann Staku, a doctoral student from Doylestown, Pa.; and Alexandria Stephanie Yueh, a senior from Lenexa.

They will spend seven to 10 weeks this summer in intensive language institutes in 15 countries where languages selected for the 2010 program are spoken. The languages are Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, Persian, Russian, Indic (Bangla/Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu) and Turkic (Turkish and Azerbaijani).

Recipients will also support their language acquisition through cultural immersion activities. Recipients are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future careers.

The KU students were among the 575 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students receiving scholarships through the U.S. Department of State’s critical languages program. More than 5,000 U.S. students applied for the scholarships. Selection was based on merit.

The Department of State launched the Critical Language Scholarships for Intensive Summer Institutes in 2006 to increase opportunities for American students to study critical-need languages overseas. The program is part of a wider U.S. government effort to dramatically expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical-need languages.

The Council of American Overseas Research Centers and the American Councils for International Education administer the critical languages program.

More information is available at clscholarship.org and exchanges.state.gov.

KU recipients of Critical Language Scholarships for 2010 are listed below by hometown, level in school, major, language and country where they will be studying; parents’ names and high schools (when available).

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence 66044
Mitchell Aaron Haverty, junior in linguistics; Arabic in Morocco; son of Madeline Finch; Lawrence Free State High School.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Lenexa 66220
Alexandria Stephanie Yueh, senior in East Asian languages and cultures; Chinese in China; daughter of Cristina Lee; Shawnee Mission West High School in Overland Park.

RENO COUNTY
From Arlington 67514
Zachary Austin Borth, senior in African and African-American studies and history of art; Arabic in Egypt; son of Sondra and Ron Borth; Nickerson High School.

SEDGWICK COUNTY
From Wichita 67212
Rebecca Su Russell, senior in East Asian languages and cultures; Chinese in China; daughter of Leola Wong and Thomas Russell; Wichita High School Northwest.

MISSOURI
From Springfield 65802
Halle Elizabeth O’Neal, doctoral student in history of art; Japanese in Japan; master’s degree from KU; bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia-Athens.

PENNSYLVANIA
From Doylestown 18902
Rebecca Ann Stakun, doctoral student in Slavic languages and literatures; Russian in Russia; bachelor’s degree from George Washington University.