The University of Georgia is bringing in Middle East and southeast Asia instructors to teach languages deemed critical for national security.
UGA's religion department will hire four scholars from Iran, Indonesia, Turkey and Tunisia to teach their native languages.
The Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants Program is federally-funded, and trains students for government and other homeland security posts here and abroad.
Alan Godlas, a UGA religion and Middle Eastern culture professor, told the
"Language is the key to learning a culture," adding,"It makes students cultural ambassadors for what the state department calls 'public diplomacy.'"Over 300 colleges offer some type of instruction in homeland security, according to The Associated Press. The trend began soon after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.
Some focus on man-made threats, while others, like a new degree program at Savannah State University, train students to help with natural disasters.
