At the end of the summer, Jill Bystydzienski, professor in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and director of the Center for Slavic and East European Studies, will retire from Ohio State. With the university for 12 years and CSEES director for the past two years, Dr. Bystydzienski has led an accomplished academic career.
 
Through her work at CSEES, students, faculty and staff have greatly benefited from her expertise, leadership and the implementation of numerous collaborative initiatives. She spearheaded the signing of two new memoranda of understanding with two institutions in Eastern Europe – Alecu Russo Balti State University and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv – and formalized an agreement with the Ukrainian Museum Archives in Cleveland. Dr. Bystydzienski expanded the center’s outreach and collaborations with other Ohio colleges and universities as well as with all of Ohio State’s area studies centers, resulting in richer educational programming.
 
She also brought thematic ideas to the Midwest Slavic Conference and a related plenary panel; supported and advocated for 23 CSEES master’s students; submitted three grant applications; and served as principal investigator for the Humanities and Arts Discovery Theme Pilot Project Grant.
 
Her accomplishments also included a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar Award in 2015 to conduct research at the University of Warsaw, Poland and in 2018 she was the recipient of the Harlan Hatchers Arts and Sciences Distinguished Faculty Award.
 
A well respected member of the faculty, Dr. Bystydzienski chaired the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Ohio State from 2006 – 2015. Her research examines barriers to the advancement of diverse girls and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. She also has done work on women, gender and politics in international and global perspective. Dr. Bystydzienski’s most recent research in this area focuses on women’s movements and feminisms in post-Soviet countries.
 
It is clear that her successes are many and we will certainly miss her presence with CSEES and Ohio State. Please join us in thanking Dr. Bystydzienski for her dedicated service and wishing her well in the future.