Wilson Center's Kennan Institute Receives $4.3 million Grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York
WASHINGTON—The Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has been awarded a $4.3 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Kennan Institute will share the grant with ISE Center in Moscow.
The two-year grant was awarded in continued support for the Carnegie Corporation initiative which, over the past two years, has established eight Centers for Advanced Study and Education (CASEs) in regional Russian universities. The CASEs program also integrates Russian scholars into the international community through a system of individual research fellowships, library and publications support, and professional community-building efforts.
The CASEs initiative is based on an assessment of need within the social sciences and humanities in the former Soviet Union that was written by the Kennan Institute for Carnegie Corporation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. That report concluded that there is a need for "middle ground" programs aimed at rebuilding professional life and sustaining professional communities in the former Soviet Union. In addition to the Carnegie Corporation and the MacArthur Foundation, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and Open Society Institute have provided generous support for the program.
Eight CASEs have been established to date: "Center for the Study of the Role of Russia in the Asia-Pacific Region," Far Eastern University (Vladivostok); "Center for the Study of the Role of Siberia in the World," Irkutsk State University; "Center for the Study of Russia in Europe," Kaliningrad State University; "Center for the Study of Russia's Impact on World Culture," Novgorod State University; "Center for the Study of the Development and Evolution of the Russian State," Saratov State University; "Center for the Study of Russia's Integration into the World Community," Tomsk State University; "Center for the Study of Tolerance," Urals State University (Ekaterinburg); "Center for the Study of Cross-Cultural Communication," Voronezh State University. 146 scholars have been selected for affiliation with one of the first three CASEs—Tomsk, Urals, and Voronezh—beginning in February 2002.
The Kennan Institute was founded as a division of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in December of 1974, through the joint initiative of Ambassador George F. Kennan, then Wilson Director James Billington, and historian S. Frederick Starr. Named in honor of Ambassador Kennan's relative, George Kennan "the Elder," a nineteenth century explorer of Russia and Siberia, the Kennan Institute is committed to improving American expertise and knowledge about Russia and the former Soviet Union.
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the living, national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds and engaged in the study of national and world affairs.
