The IU Russian and East European Institute received a $1 million grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to create a Russian Studies Workshop and expand Russian studies, according to an IU press release.
The workshop will bring together different IU schools, departments and Russian scholars to facilitate conversation and thinking about challenges since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The grant will also help the Russian and East European Institute continue its work of collaborative research as a center for Russian politics and society, according to the release.
“With Carnegie’s generous award we can take advantage of technological advances and opportunities to work with Russian scholars,” said Regina Smyth, project director and IU associate professor of political science, in the release.
IU is one of three institutions in the United States to receive the grant, which was created after a report by the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies showed graduate training and research related to Russia had declined in recent years because of less emphasis on college campuses. The grant is designed to encourage Russia-relevant training, research and engagement with Russian institutions.
“We are delighted at the opportunities provided by the Carnegie grant to revitalize Russian studies at Indiana University and to strengthen research and training collaborations with colleagues at Russian universities,” said Sarah Phillips, director of the Russian and East European Institute and professor of anthropology, in the release.
The grant will also allow the institute to expand Russian scholarship with a new faculty position and two postdoctoral fellowships in Russian politics and society. The new faculty position will be a political scientist who will bring policy research on politics, trade and security issues to campus, according to the release.
Carnegie, Smyth and Phillips plan to build networks with scholars from IU, the U.S., Europe and Russia to help IU become a leader in social science research on Russia, according to the release.
“This grant will address the need to encourage exchanges between American and Russian scholars at a time when this has become increasingly difficult,” said Lee Feinstein, founding dean of the School of Global and International Studies, in the release.
Laurel Demkovich
