Dear colleagues:

I hope 2025 brings you many bright moments, new opportunities, and reasons to stay positive throughout the year!

I would like to invite you to our annual online general membership meeting, which will take place on Thursday, February 13, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM EST.

Follow this link to register for the meeting. Both members and non-members are welcome to attend. 

The agenda for our meeting includes: 

• Award celebrations

• Announcements of Board election results

• Updates on ACTR programs, services, and publications

• Announcements of upcoming events and professional development opportunities

I would also like to remind you that by registering for this meeting, you acknowledge and agree to abide by the ACTR Anti-Harassment Policy. 

I appreciate your ongoing support and contributions to ACTR's activities. I am looking forward to seeing you at the general membership meeting and the future events, including our 50th Anniversary Virtual Conference on April 25-26, 2025.

Best wishes,
Olga Klimova
ACTR President

It is the time of the year to nominate a stellar student in your program for the annual ACTRPost-Secondary Russian Scholar Laureate Award - PSRSLA-2025. This award is an opportunity for instructors at two- and -four year college programs, including community colleges, to recognize a stellar student in their Russian language programs. For the parallel pre-college award, please see the K-12 tab on the ACTR website.

Last spring, thanks to the efforts of dozens of Russian program directors, coordinators, and lecturers, eighty two students received the ACTR Post-Secondary Russian Scholar Award-2024, including several students whose Russian-language programs participated in the nomination process for the first time. 

This year’s nomination deadline date is March 1, 2025. For guidelines on submission criteria, please visit https://www.actr.org/PSRSLA_Guidelines. Please note that nominations must be submitted electronically at https://forms.gle/vphtz6bnbfsoLhgd9. Only one nomination will be accepted per Russian language program. Award certificates will be mailed to nominators by April.  

Questions? Suggestions? Please contact us at iza.savenkova@gmail.com or meridoubleday@gmail.com

We look forward to receiving your nominations for PSRSLA-2025.
Izolda Savenkova and Meredith Doubleday 
PSRSLA Co-chairs

The American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) is excited to announce a new opportunity for highly-motivated college students to enhance their professional and administrative skills through our annual summer internship program. This is a unique chance to gain hands-on experience while contributing to the promotion of Russian language studies in today’s world.

Internship Details:

• Term: June – August 2025

• Length: 4 to 12 weeks (flexible based on agreement)

• Hours: Flexible; however, for external funding purposes, applicants must commit to 8 weeks and 240 hours (e.g., 30 hours per week for 8 weeks or 20 hours per week for 12 weeks).

• Compensation: This is an unpaid internship. Applicants are encouraged to seek financial support through their colleges or external sources. Here is a list of potential funding opportunities.

Responsibilities: The 2025 Summer ACTR Intern will: Collaborate with the ACTR Advocacy Subcommittee to brainstorm, create, design, update, and promote materials (including flyers and short videos) advocating for the study of Russian in the contemporary world. For more information, please visit the ACTR Student Summer Internship webpage.

Eligibility:

• Open to current college students with an interest in Russian language and culture, advocacy, and digital content creation.

• Applicants should possess strong organizational, communication, and creative skills.

• Experience with social media management, graphic design, or video editing is a plus but not required.

How to Apply: Fill in the application form by March 1, 2025. The form will ask applicants to:

1. submit a resume detailing relevant experience and skills;

2. answer several questions, explaining their interest in the internship and how it aligns with their academic and career goals.

If you have any questions, please contact Olga Klimova at vok1@ pitt.edu or Julia Denne at bytheonionse@gmail.com

We look forward to receiving students’ applications and welcoming a passionate intern to our team!