For students, businesses and, increasingly, governmental institutions, cultural diversity is one of the California State University’s most attractive attributes. Our student population, which will reach more than 450,000 this year, speaks roughly 100 languages. This is why state and national leaders are increasingly turning to the CSU system to help create a more dynamic international workforce, to locally employ multilingual professionals and to better prepare the country for its growing security threats and conflicts.

Diverse universities have always served public and private industries well by developing bright, multilingual students. However, today it is crucial for higher education to be more strategic and creative in the development of language curricula.

To do its part, the CSU recently launched the Strategic Language Initiative (SLI), which consists of immersion courses designed specifically to develop educated professionals who speak Arabic, Korean, Mandarin, Persian and Russian.

The SLI is a collaborative effort that integrates language learning with professional majors and career opportunities, and could serve as a national model for training in these critical languages. The primary goal of the program is to help our nation meet the need for strategic and diplomatic expertise in global business, trade and transportation, plus develop the domestic capability to communicate in response to international situations.

Six of the 23 CSU campuses began their immersion programs this past summer, which entailed having students live and study together. This first batch of SLI students is now in the second phase of the program — back at home and on campus studying their languages throughout the academic year. They will conclude their programs next summer while studying abroad. In the future, additional CSU campuses plan to participate.

At the state level, the need for SLI-type programs and college-educated multilingual professionals has never been greater, and the multitude of heritage language communities in metropolitan areas like Southern California represent a largely untapped resource to help meet these needs.