On September 30 and October 1, the Woodrow Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, together with the Information-Scholarship-Education Center (ISE Center, Moscow) and the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, will host an event showcasing the results of the first two years of work of the Centers for Advanced Study and Education (CASE) program. The CASE program was conceived by Carnegie Corporation of New York as a way to bolster regional state universities and scholars in the former Soviet Union by establishing thematic research centers at universities. The CASE program in Russia is funded by the Corporation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and is administered jointly by the Kennan Institute and the ISE Center.

"The CASE program is designed to facilitate high-quality scholarship in the Russian regions and integration with the international academic community," said Kennan Institute Director Blair A. Ruble. "When Vartan Gregorian became its President, Carnegie Corporation asked a pivotal question about the state of the social sciences and humanities in the former Soviet Union and, together with the MacArthur Foundation, commissioned an assessment of need. The idea for CASE developed from the recommendations of this assessment."

The conference will feature presentations by representatives from all nine CASEs, members of the U.S. academic community, and representatives of the funding organizations. In addition, Mikhail Strikhanov, Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation, Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Lee H. Hamilton, President and Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center, will give keynote remarks at a lunch on October 1. The theme of the conference will be: "The Integration of Russia into the International Academic Community: Perspectives from Russian Education and Scholarship."

The conference will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. on September 30, and from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on October 1. All panels will be held in the Joseph and Claire Flom Auditorium (6th floor) of the Woodrow Wilson Center, located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Reservations are required to attend this event. To R.S.V.P. and request directions or more information on this event, please contact the Kennan Institute at 202-691-4100. For a complete agenda, click here.