Sustaining and Strengthening LCTLs in the Big Ten in Precarious Times
A Grassroots Town Hall

12:00-1:15 pm PDT, 2:00-3:15 pm CDT, 3:00-4:15 pm EDT
Friday, October 10, 2025
Presenter slides

ABOUT THE TOWN HALL

Programs in less commonly taught languages are particularly vulnerable in this time of unprecedented uncertainty in U.S. higher education.

This grassroots town hall meeting is for faculty, instructional staff, advisors, and administrators at Big Ten universities who teach, support, or advocate for programs in less commonly taught and Indigenous languages (LCTLs) to come together to share innovative program models, information about institutional strengths, and interests in forming new inter-institutional partnerships to strengthen LCTL programs. The goal of the meeting is to encourage new forms of collaboration across Big Ten universities to sustain–and even strengthen–LCTL education in very challenging times.

The meeting will begin with brief presentations about the Big Ten Academic Alliance CourseShare Program and other models for expanding access to LCTLs across institutions. These presentations will be followed by short, informal, 3-minute “lightning talks” to share information about local strengths in LCTLs that might be leveraged in new partnerships with other Big Ten universities, examples of innovative models for expanding access to LCTLs, and exemplar LCTL projects that might be of interest to others in the Big Ten.

In addition to the presentations listed in the agenda, there will be a way for all town hall participants to share information, resources, and contact information with other participants.

This grassroots town hall meeting is for faculty, instructional staff, advisors, and administrators at Big Ten universities who teach, support, or advocate for LCTL programs, but is open to all! 

 

 

AGENDA

Welcome, introduction, and meeting overview
Dianna Murphy, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Models for collaboration
Big Ten Academic Alliance CourseShare Program
Laurel Rosch, Big Ten Academic Alliance

Toward More Proactive and Strategic Models for Sharing LCTL Courses
Emily Heidrich Uebel, Michigan State University

An Asymmetrical Revenue-Generating Model for Sharing LCTL Courses
Felix Kronenberg, Michigan State University

Lightning presentations
CourseShare as a Signature Program for Your University
Stephanie Treat, University of Minnesota

Departmental, Campus, and Regional Collaborations for Expanding LCTL Access
Erlin Barnard, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Building Regional Connections: The ILACS Consortium
Sonia Manriquez, Indiana University

Building Pathways for LCTL Growth in Higher Education
Arturo Díaz and Tanya Ivanova-Sullivan, University of California, Los Angeles

YOLO – From ‘I Wish I’d Known’ to ‘Now I’m Curious’: Guiding LCTL Exploration
Carter Griffith and Saena Dozier, University of Minnesota

LCTL Strategic Integration from the Dean’s Office Perspective
Sonja Fritzsche, Michigan State University

Discussion and next steps
Dianna Murphy, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Sponsors
University of Wisconsin–Madison Language Institute
Michigan State University Center for Language Teaching Advancement

Contacts
Dianna Murphy, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Emily Heidrich Uebel, Michigan State University
Felix Kronenberg, Michigan State University

Accommodations
We are committed to inclusive and accessible programming. To request an accommodation for this event, please contact Jana Martin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, three business days in advance.