$1 million to support languages
Language studies at ANU were boosted by a single anonymous donor who pledged one million dollars to support three new endowments.
The gift received rapturous applause when it was announced by Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young at the University's annual Philanthropy Thank You event. The endowments include $200,000 each for Portuguese language studies and Russian language studies and $100,000 for Indigenous Australian language studies.
The donor pledged to bring the total donation to a sum of one million dollars and the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences agreed to invest $100,000, bringing the overall donation to $1.1 million.
These endowments will provide financial assistance to students studying the languages, support teaching and research by academics in the humanities and social sciences, and provide funds for additional casual teaching and academic staff.
"The teaching of languages is so important and as Australia's national university we have a responsibility to uphold areas of national significance," said Professor Young.
"This anonymous donation will help us do that, and I thank the donor on behalf of the entire University community for this gift and the impact it will have."
