The Halle Foundation is an independent, public grant making charity established in 1986 by Claus M. Halle, a German native who lived in the U.S. for about one-half of his adult life. He came to know, understand and love the two countries that had been home to him for so long, and had “witnessed and concluded that there exists a lack of knowledge and understanding in the United States and in Germany of the respective other country’s people, society, geography, culture, sports, political and legal systems, as well as habits and customs.” Claus Halle “observed and concluded that greater knowledge and better understanding in the aforementioned fields will lead to increased friendship between the two peoples and improved relations between the two nations, thereby helping the cause of world peace.” Determined to work at increasing such knowledge and understanding, Claus Halle established The Halle Foundation. KIT in Karlsruhe, Germany The Halle Engineering-German Language Study and Travel Scholarship Through a generous grant from the Halle Foundation, the Department of Germanic & Slavic Studies is able to offer scholarships to students pursuing a dual degree in Engineering and German prior to their semester at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The first scholarship recipient was Natalie Williams, who began her studies in Bonn, Germany in the fall of 2015. Since then, The Halle Foundation has supported 16 more students, with 7 more traveling to Germany in the fall of 2020. The travel scholarship pays for intensive German language study for one month in Bonn, as well as travel and living expenses. UGA students at KIT in 2018 with Dr. Tom Lawrence
