2019 saw the establishment of a new endowed lecture, the Kalbouss Innovative Approaches to Slavic Cultural Studies Lecture. This new annual lecture is made possible through the generosity of Associate Professor Emeritus George Kalbouss. A short biography of Dr. Kalbouss can be found below. The inaugural speaker, Dr. Sunnie Rucker-Chang (University of Cincinnati), presented “The Uses of Blackness in Yugoslavia: Dimensions and Legacies of an Idea,” which is available to view in its entirety on the Slavic Department YouTube page. Dr. Colleen McQuillen (University of Southern California) will present the 2020 Kalbouss Lecture on March 20, 2020. More details can be found on the events page.
Biography of Dr. George Kalbouss:
Associate Professor Emeritus George Kalbouss taught in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures (now Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures [SEELC]) from 1973 to 2001 and his contributions are far too many to enumerate here. An outstanding educator with a commitment to supporting Slavic studies in the state of Ohio, in 1967 Dr. Kalbouss created an Introduction to Russian Culture course which was the first of its kind. Having written and published the Russian culture textbook, he taught over 15,000 students through this course during his academic career at Ohio State University. Before his time at SEELC, Dr. Kalbouss had been an assistant professor of Russian at Dartmouth College from 1967-73, and an Instructor of Russian at Purdue University from 1966-67. Dr. Kalbouss received his PhD in Slavic Languages from New York University in 1968, and his MA and BA degrees from Columbia University. Beginning in 1961, Dr. Kalbouss served in the United States Army Reserves’ Military Intelligence branch, retiring as Lieutenant Colonel in 1999.
Throughout his career and since retirement, Dr. Kalbouss has also been an active supporter of the humanities and all things Slavic in Ohio. In 1992, he endowed the Russian Culture Fund at Ohio State, and from 1997-2007 worked with the Ohio Governor's Cultural Office under the administrations of Governors Voinovich and Taft. Dr. Kalbouss also initiated the endowed Francis M. Buzek Award in memory of one of his favorite students during his tenure in the Slavic Department at Ohio State. Dr. Kalbouss’s other commitments and contributions include positions on the boards of the Ohio Humanities Council, the Cleveland Ukrainian Museum-Archives as an adviser, and the OSU Arts and Sciences Alumni Society. He currently resides in Columbus, Ohio.
