A Program of the U.S. Department of State
Alumni Development Fund
The CLS Alumni Development Fund (ADF) periodically offers small grants to alumni
of the CLS Program through a competitive application process. The ADF has provided opportunities for alumni to continue their language
learning, pursue career development goals, and participate in community
outreach related to CLS languages and their corresponding world
regions. Particular emphasis is placed on projects with an impact beyond
the individual applicant, reaching students, CLS alumni, or others in
their community.
The ADF is not currently open for applications.
Examples of previous Alumni Development Fund projects can be found below.
Katia Chaterji (Indonesian 2016), a 2016 ADF recipient, invited esteemed Javanese musician Ki Midiyanto to the University of Washington’s Seattle Campus to tune and repair their gamelan instruments and shadow puppets. The project also supported several events, including several lectures, performances, and dinners through which the campus and greater Seattle community had the opportunity to meet M…
Katia Chaterji
Indonesian 2016
Indonesian 2016
Nicole Conseugra (Chinese 2016) and Franklin Hernandez (Chinese 2016), 2016 ADF recipients, used their grant to plan and host a Chinese New Year Gala Program at Florida International University on February 4th. The event was meant to promote education and awareness of China’s most important social and economic holiday, as well as to broaden interest in Mandarin courses and Chinese culture at FIU.…
Nicole Conseugra
Chinese 2016
Chinese 2016
Franklin Hernandez
Chinese 2016
Chinese 2016
Sara Davidson (Korean 2011), a 2016 ADF recipient, used her grant to host a series outreach meetings for Korean college students interested in study abroad and international engagement. She held events in Cheonju, Daejeon, and Seoul at local cafes near major universities in each city. “Engagement like this (particularly in a friendly, positive, and intellectually stimulating environment), even ju…
Sara Davidson
Korean 2011
Korean 2011
Benjamin Ditter (Chinese 2016), a 2016 ADF recipient, used his award to support a series of academic colloquia at the University of Washington – Seattle that covered various topics in the humanities, all related to China and conducted in Mandarin. These events provided a platform for Mandarin-speaking graduate students to present their work and receive feedback, as well as providing practice for …
Benjamin Ditter
Chinese 2016
Chinese 2016
Niki Murphy (Korean 2015), a 2016 ADF recipient, collaborated with the Maryland Institute College of Art to organize a Korean film screening as part of Discovering Cultural Diversity in Film, a two-day film festival showcasing full-length and short films from Korea, Turkey, France, and others. With the support of ADF, Niki was able to invite filmmakers Jennifer Cho Suhr and Shirley Kim-ryu to pre…
Niki Murphy
Korean 2015
Korean 2015