The home of the School of Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics officially has a new name.
The Foreign Languages Building (FLB) is now the Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics Building (LCLB).
Faculty, staff, and graduate students in the School of Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics decided on the new name in Spring 2022, with a majority voting for the building to match the name of the school.
The proposal to rename the building to LCLB received final approval from the Board of Trustees in Spring 2023, following a recommendation from the Chancellor and the Vice President of the University of Illinois System.
The board stated in its rationale that FLB was named in 1968, during the Cold War and Vietnam War periods. The name was consistent with the geopolitical context of the era, which allowed U.S. universities to use federal funds to build foreign language and area studies programs through Title VI of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958. The NDEA aimed to ensure trained expertise of sufficient quality and quantity to meet national security needs.
Since then, the rationale for studying languages and cultures has changed.
“We are here to help students expand their knowledge and experience of the world, gain the tools they need to thrive in a diverse workplace, and become more engaged and productive individuals,” said Mariselle Meléndez, interim director of SLCL and professor of Spanish. “We are comprised of 12 units that strongly focus on literatures, cultures, and languages throughout the U.S. and the world. The board agreed with our recommendation that the name of the building better represent the wide range of interests that characterize teaching and research in SLCL.”
Dania De La Hoya Rojas