Virginia Military Institute has received a $665,000 grant from the Department of Defense to enhance its Arabic studies program through the Reserve Officer Training Corps Language and Culture Project.

The project allows ROTC students to study languages and cultures of world regions critical to U.S. national security.

The grant -- to be spread over three years -- will support the establishment of a writing, reading and oral center in Arabic in VMI's department of modern languages and cultures, according to information released by VMI. The grant will also provide cadets who are commissioning as officers in the U.S. Armed Forces with scholarship opportunities to study abroad and fund opportunities for summer programs at other U.S. schools.

"We have a mature Arabic program that is firmly established as the second most studied foreign language at VMI," Brig. Gen. Charles Brower, deputy superintendent for academics and dean of the faculty, stated in a news release. "This generous grant allows us to enhance our already strong program, which will also serve as a model for other institutions to improve upon their curricula and build their enrollments."

The grant will also support a cross-cultural conference hosted by VMI that will focus on themes including literature, religion, history, language, politics, pedagogy and Islamic-Christian amity. The grant will support the two adjunct professors hired to help implement this program.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for cadets who are commissioning," said Col. Kathleen Bulger-Barnett, head of the department of modern languages and cultures. "This grant will allow them to further their study of Arabic, which is so very important not only for obvious strategic reasons related to world events, but also for commerce, cross-cultural understanding and to develop leaders who understand this region of the world which is so rich in civilization and culture."

Bulger-Barnett said the grant should fund at least 48 scholarships over a three-year period. Currently, 26 cadets are declared majors in Arabic and 11 are pursuing a minor. About 20 cadets participate in a VMI study abroad program in Morocco each summer.

Established in 1997, VMI's Arabic program has grown steadily to include one part-time instructor and two full-time professors who teach more than 270 cadets, according to the news release.