Mellon-NWLC

The Mellon Project

The NWLC received a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 1997 to support a three-year program designed to increase the effectiveness of teaching and learning in foreign languages through collaborative development and the use of technology. NWLC, in essence, became a full partner in the Mellon Foundation's extraordinary initiative to advance alternative approaches to the teaching of foreign languages through the use of new technologies.

The grant supported the transition of teaching and learning in our language departments from traditional text and audio-lab based programs to interactive text and multimedia enriched curricula. Through various consortium activities,

faculty were able to develop materials that promote more effective teaching and learning of languages;
technical support staff were able to facilitate efficient education about technologies and provide hardware and software services to faculty and students; and
administrators at the four institutions were able to enable and reward faculty participation in the project.

Institutional support were assured and overall coordination was provided by a Council of the Deans of the four colleges. Professor Ronald Loftus, a faculty member in Japanese at Willamette University received a half-time release from his teaching to act as the Consortium Coordinator. A Consortium Steering Committee made up of one faculty and one technology representative from each campus worked with the Coordinator.