NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ An investment into the study of Europe ñ Germany in particular ñ will help transform the Center for European Studies at Vanderbilt University into a hub of activity reaching college and high school German instructors through much of the South.
The center is slated to become the Center for European and German Studies based on a $428,000 grant from the New York-based Max Kade Foundation. The funds will be used to refurbish part of Buttrick Hall on the Vanderbilt campus.
The Center for European and German Studies is scheduled to open in the spring of 2006.
"The money is being invested in a place, a structure," said John McCarthy, professor of German and comparative literature at Vanderbilt. "Now it’s up to us to fill that space with activity."
"The addition of ‘German’ to the center’s name will recognize a significant area of strength within European Studies," said Joel Harrington, the outgoing director of the center. Matthias Schulz, a visiting professor of history from Germany, will succeed Harrington as director of the Center for European Studies on Jan. 1.
"The confidence that the Max Kade Foundation is showing in the center will benefit us as we look for help in expanding our programs," Harrington said. "It also must be said that we are building on the strong legacy of 20 years by the center’s original director, Donald Hancock."
McCarthy and Harrington envision the expanded center as a forum for colleagues in and outside of Vanderbilt to share ideas and also as a venue for mini-courses and summer programs to help out college and high school German instructors.
"We want to share with our neighboring institutions in the region and then reach out to high schools," McCarthy said. "They’re having problems because the value of language programs is always threatened. For those German teachers out there, there’s so much we could do to help them."
"If we don’t do things like that, then rich cultural heritage and traditions will be lost," McCarthy said, "and also international understanding."
The Max Kade Foundation was endowed by Dr. Max Kade (1882-1967), a German immigrant to America who turned to philanthropy after a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry. He founded the foundation to promote better understanding between the people of Germany and America. Since 1944, the Max Kade Foundation has endowed scholarships, professorships and exchange programs and established libraries and centers for German studies at several universities.
"We’re very excited that there will be a Max Kade presence at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, a prestigious university in a great city," said Lya Friedrich Pfeifer, president of the Max Kade Foundation. "We were very excited to hear about their plans for their German program."
The College of Arts and Science "is pleased to join forces with the Max Kade Foundation to expand our capabilities in European and German studies," said Dean Richard McCarty. "This grant is a tribute to the quality of our faculty, and it will make possible many exciting developments in the next several years."
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu