The Center for Slavic and East European Studies announces that Joe Brandesky, Martha W. Farmer Endowed professor in the Department of Theatre at Ohio State Lima, is stepping down as director of the Center for Slavic and East European Studies, and Jill Bystydzienski, professor in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, will succeed him in the position beginning September 1.

During Dr. Brandesky’s tenure as director, much was accomplished. Through his leadership, the Slavic Center submitted a grant proposal to the Carnegie Corporation of New York to strengthen Russian area studies with the Department of Political Science; a partnership was reinvigorated with Columbus North International School to teach East European and Eurasian culture and Russian language courses there for the 2016-17 academic year; the Polish Studies Initiative designed its first education abroad program for adults as a means of strengthening its ties to the Polish heritage community within Ohio that will run in 2018; and Dr. Brandesky, in conjunction with the Columbus Museum of Art, co-curated a large exhibit to take place in the spring of 2017 on Czech productions and adaptations of Shakespeare plays, that will also include international symposiums in Brno, Czech Republic and at Ohio State.

As the incoming director Dr. Bystydzienski brings area expertise and strong leadership skills to advance the mission of the Slavic Center. Her research examines barriers to the advancement of diverse girls and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. She is a co-principal investigator on two National Science Foundation grants that focus on women in the sciences and engineering. In autumn 2015, she conducted research on gender and STEM in Poland under a Fulbright Senior Research Award. She also has done work on women, gender and politics in international and global perspective, with politics broadly defined to encompass established political institutions and women's movements, organizations, and actions. Her most recent research in this area focuses on women’s movements and feminisms in post-Soviet countries. Between 2006 and 2015, Dr. Bystydzienski chaired the department of Women's. Gender and Sexuality Studies at Ohio State.

Please join us in thanking Dr. Joe Brandesky for his dedicated service, and welcoming Dr. Jill Bystydzienski to the Center.