Open House & Launch Party
Celebrate the launch of an exciting new school!
Meet our internationally recognized faculty and dedicated support staff while enjoying cake and a world-tour of refreshments. Tour the tastefully renovated, iconic Thompson Hall and the Language Learning Resource Center. See where our students learn, study, and relax between classes.
Explore the historic hallways and classrooms and visit with representatives of our 25 academic programs and various student support services, including advising, faculty-led study abroad programs, student clubs, scholarships, tutoring, and language conversation tables.
Join us for fun, food, and giveaways, including freebies from local Pullman businesses, PLUS Coug and official SLCR swag 2:00–4:00 p.m. on October 17 in Thompson Hall.
We look forward to seeing you! >>RSVP today!
The new school was formally established in the College of Arts and Sciences on July 1, 2018, bringing together personnel and resources from among three previously separate academic units.
“The School of Languages, Cultures, and Race is a great experiment integrating disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities, creating a hub of interdisciplinary thinking and research,” said Carmen Lugo-Lugo, a professor of comparative ethnic studies and the faculty-elected director of the school.
SLCR is home to programs in Comparative Ethnic Studies, American Studies, American Indian Studies, and Popular Culture from the former Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies. It is also home to the foreign language areas — Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish — along with Hispanic Studies, Film Studies, Global Studies, International Area Studies, Latin American Studies and Linguistics programs from the former Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures. The Humanities, Social Sciences, and Religious Studies programs came to the new school from the General Studies program.
For undergraduate students, the school offers a total of 25 academic degree programs between eight majors and 14 minor programs. It also offers two masters programs and one doctoral program. Nearly 1,300 students are enrolled in SLCR courses this fall on the Pullman, Tri-Cities, Vancouver and Global campuses.
In the school are 36 faculty members, including 12 tenure-track, five clinical, 18 instructors and one visiting scholar; 10 staff members, including four advisors; and 18 graduate students including 12 master’s students and six doctoral candidates.
SLCR students have the unique convenience of utilizing the Daggy Advising Center located in Daggy Hall. It houses all four academic advisors in one area, including staff support to assist students with questions and concerns. Students can also take advantage of free language tutoring and quiet study space in the Language Learning Resource Center (LLRC) on the second floor of Thompson Hall.
SLCR language tutors are undergraduates who are native or near-native speakers selected by faculty based upon their mastery of the language to assist other students with comprehending and solidifying their language skills, both written and verbal. This service is offered to all students enrolled in 100- and 200-level foreign language classes.
Partnering with the International Center, the school also provides one-hour foreign language conversation practice at weekly “language tables” held in the CUB. The foreign language faculty and native-speaking students facilitate to ensure proper pronunciation, use of words and grammar in everyday conversation.
Student support services are a top priority for the school, Lugo-Lugo said. “We will continue to expand and adjust resources to meet students’ needs and support their success. We’re able to offer these types of critical resources thanks to generous donations from alumni and friends.”