Associate professor Sunnie Rucker-Chang (DSEELC and AAAS) was awarded a grant in the amount of $113,318 from the US Russia Foundation to support the project “Capacity and Equity Building in Russian Studies,” a national undergraduate research program that is part of the Howard University undergraduate Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Think Tank ecosystem, a collaboration among faculty from Howard University (Amarilis Lugo de Fabritz and Kelly Knickmeier Cummings), University of Miami (Krista Goff), and the Ohio State University (Sunnie Rucker-Chang). After four successful cycles, the collaboration has supported the career and expertise development of more than 135 U.S.-based undergraduate students from 28 colleges and universities, with mentorship by faculty and professional staff representing nearly 40 universities, liberal arts colleges, and organizations. The new iteration of the project, “Capacity and Equity Building in Russian Studies,” will be a 9-month undergraduate research program that will work with students from communities that have historically been underserved and underrepresented in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. 

The grant will provide funding for undergraduate students to engage in unique research, skill-building, and networking opportunities facilitated by REEES area-experts in academic, government, and industry fields. The funding will support stipends, travel funds, and per diems for ten students to attend the Midwest Slavic Association conference in Columbus, Ohio in 2025 and 2026. There are also additional funds to support undergraduate students interested in attending graduate school to present their research at the Association of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies national conference in 2024 and 2025. 

For more information about opportunities with the REEES Undergraduate Think Tank, please visit reeesthinktank.org