Yesterday, professor Christine Ingebritsen’s class, Politics in Scandinavia, met in the HUB for a presentation by a guest lecturer. The event was open to the public and the general campus community,and looked like any other public lecture: people of all ages trickling in and finding chairs or seats on the floor as they waited impatiently for the speaker to begin.

Nothing unusual.

And then President Valdis Zatlers of Latvia walked up to the podium.

The UW is the only school nationwide that offers a Latvian language program. Half of the program’s funding comes from the Latvian Ministry of Education, so the president’s visit yesterday was just one of many advantages of this international partnership. Zatler’s visit was also part of a yearlong celebration marking 100 years of existence for the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the UW.

Previous guests include Guntis Ulmanis in 2000, who served as president of Latvia from 1992 to 1999, and the program is still benefiting from visiting lecturer Iveta Grinberga, a professor from the University of Latvia who has been teaching Latvian at the UW since 2005.

“It signifies that we really are a global university,” said Guntis Smidchens, assistant professor of Baltic studies in the UW Department of Scandinavian Studies. “Knowing the cultures of the world is very important to this university.”

A luncheon was held after the president’s lecture, where eight students proficient in Latvian stood and introduced themselves to the president in his own language.

Since the program began in 1994, 132 students have gone through Latvian language classes.

“Many of these students have no problems getting jobs because this is the only institution that’s training them,” Smidchens said.

Alumni of the program have gone into foreign service as translators, and one student went on to become the editor of The Baltic Times, the main English-language newspaper in the Baltic area.

At the luncheon, the president was also treated to a performance by the University Chorale. The UW music department houses the only Baltic choral music library in the nation, created by Director of Choral Activities Geoffrey Boers. The choir sang “Put vejini,” a Latvian folk song, in honor of the visit.

“I’m so impressed; it’s not easy to speak right now,” Zatlers told the choir after the song. “This song was sung as an anthem when the official anthem, “God Bless Latvia,” was forbidden [during the Soviet occupation]. This is a special song for every Latvian, and you sang it so well.”

Zatlers went on to invite the choir to perform in his home someday.

“If you are ever in Latvia, let me know, and I will have the privilege of having you come sing,” he said amid laughter from the choir. “Let’s make a deal.”

Director of University Chorale Giselle Wyers said the choir will likely take Zatlers up on his offer, as they plan to go on tour in Estonia next year.

Smidchens said that although the Latvian government is having to cut its budget by 30 percent, they and the UW agree that education is a priority and the program must stay, as language acquisition is key to being able to conduct in-depth research using primary sources.

The UW’s commitment to the program is something special, Smidchens said.

“It has to do with leaders having the vision to give students an education that not every school does,” he said. “This university is really unique; I have not seen another university as committed to international studies for the students as this one.”

Reach reporter Molly Rosbach at news@dailyuw.com.