At an education summit attended by Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway, President Bush called for spending $114 million more federal dollars on education programs teaching Arabic, Chinese, Farsi and other languages.

That proposal went over well with the academics at the summit and was especially welcome news in Lawrence to KU anthropology professor Felix Moos, who has long campaigned for the nation to step up language training to meet the demands of a global era.

“It’s very clear that very few Americans speak languages that are necessary to keep an international edge,” Moos said.

Bush’s proposal, called the National Security Language Initiative, would build several programs and expand others.

Hemenway said there’s no question KU’s strengths in language and international programs could put it in line for some of the federal funding or assistance that might flow from it.

Bush will request the funding for fiscal year 2007. The plan would bring additional resources to K-12 schools, but it also includes calls for expanding the Fulbright program to allow 300 native speakers of critical-need languages to teach at U.S. universities and schools, increasing the number of scholarships for undergraduates to study critical-need languages abroad, and creating summer immersion study programs for university students.

KU will monitor the plan as it moves through the legislative process. If funds are ultimately available, KU would compete for them.

“The president went out of his way to stress that speaking another person’s language is a very noble and appropriate goal,” Hemenway said. “He wants to encourage us to learn languages that are probably not in the normal curriculum.”

KU offers classes in more than 25 languages, including Arabic and Chinese. The most popular languages tend to be Spanish, French, German and Italian.

Several years ago, Moos proposed a plan to train federal intelligence agents in languages and cultures. It became the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program.

The Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program has aided about 150 people, Moos said. But he believes there needs to be greater focus on the issue.

“The state of global knowledge that we need in 2006 is really not being considered seriously enough for the challenges lying ahead,” he said.

But Moos said he was encouraged by Bush’s proposal.

“We didn’t really have a national discussion until (the summit),” he said. “I’m encouraged by any discussion.”

Moos said more dialogue is needed to identify the goals and determine how to implement them.

Moos said his views should not be construed as pro-war. He said such training in languages and cultures can prevent large military conflicts rather than encourage them.