CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Austin Peay State University and the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System launched a major partnership Thursday to become the state’s first public education institutions to offer both Japanese and Korean language courses to students.

The new classes, funded by grants from The Japan Foundation and the ALLEX Foundation, were developed to better serve the Japanese- and Korean-owned businesses investing in this region.
Last spring, Dr. David Rands, director of APSU’s Asian Studies program, contacted Dr. Sean Impeartrice, CMCSS chief academic officer, about pursuing the grants, and the partnership quickly gained the support of both administrations.

“CMCSS is a district focused on innovation and how best to prepare students for college and career,” Milliard L. House II, director of schools, said. “By offering Korean and Japanese courses, we are not only increasing our portfolio of options to students, we are honoring our community workforce partners.”

Last year, the Korean tire company Hankook opened an $800 million plant in Clarksville, and the company moved its North American headquarters to Nashville. Later this fall, LG Electronics is expected to open the Korean company’s first washing machine plant in the U.S. in Clarksville.

According to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Japan is Tennessee’s largest foreign investor, with 184 Japanese companies employing nearly 50,000 people in the state. The Asian nation has invested more than $17 billion in Tennessee, and several high-profile companies, such as Nissan North America Inc. and Bridgestone Americas Tire Operation, have opened corporate headquarters in the state.

“In the current economic recruitment climate, foreign direct investment is competitive, and each incoming corporation is looking for a community that offers multiple assets ranging from land and infrastructure to education and available workforce,” Mike Evans, executive director of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council, said. “Having an engaged and proactive school system that invests in opportunities, such as the Korean and Japanese foreign language programs, helps to move Clarksville-Montgomery County to the next level in our recruitment efforts.”

“Austin Peay is committed to serving this community through strategic partnerships and the creation of new programs that enhance the cultural and employment needs of this region,” Dr. Alisa White, APSU president, said. “We’re excited to work with the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System to provide a pathway for students seeking to study Japanese and Korean at the college level, while also preparing skilled, highly qualified job candidates for our local industries.”

With these grants, CMCSS is the only school district in Tennessee to offer Korean as a high school class, and APSU is the only university to offer the language at the college level. CMCSS is the only district to offer Korean and Japanese in the high school format. Austin Peay began offering the Japanese language four years ago, through its Asian Studies minor, and that program continues to grow.

For more information, contact Dr. David Rands at randsd@apsu.edu.
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