The South Asia Center at Syracuse University has received $1.4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education, according to an SU News release.

SU will use the grant to support language and area studies of South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The federal grant can also be used for research fellowships, student and faculty training and study abroad programs, according to the release.

The South Asia Center’s director, Carol Babiracki, plans to use the grant to create study abroad partnerships with community colleges in Onondaga, Monroe and Tompkins counties, and with SUNY Cortland and Buffalo State universities, according to the release.

The South Asia Center is part of the Syracuse-Cornell South Asia Consortium. The Department of Education has designated both the center and the consortium as National Resource Centers, which are “national resources” for teaching foreign languages, according to the release.

The center will also use the funding to support a new Sustainable South Asia Initiative, a network of teaching, research and public outreach aimed at creating sustainable communities in the region, according to the release.