Galina Khmelkova

[Adrian J. Wanner]

Dear Colleagues:

I am contacting you to see if you might have any need for a one-year
appointment for a visiting faculty member in Russian OUTSIDE THE US
(Canada, Great Britain, etc. would be ideal). We have a visiting
Russian teacher Galina Khmelkova from Volgograd University who has
been with us for nearly ten years at The Pennsylvania State
University. The rub is that her visa expires, and she must leave the
United States for one year before she can return. I wondered if you
at your home university might have any programs for bringing in
visiting foreign faculty. She teaches all levels of classes in
Russian for us and is the best teacher of Russian I have ever met.
She also teaches large Russian culture courses in English for us (180
students).  I'm on the lookout for something in Canada or Great
Britain for her for the one year--other countries would be okay, too.
The pay would need to be at least enough for her to live on for the
year. We'd bring her back after the year is up and keep her here as
long as we can. So I'd appreciate if you might circulate this letter
in case any of your colleagues might be interested in pursuing the
possibility of an appointment.  For your information I have included
an Outstanding Teaching Award recommendation that I wrote on her
behalf this past December.

Sincerely,

(Dr.) Michael M. Naydan



To Whom It May Concern:

I am pleased that Galina Khmelkova's nomination for an Outstanding
Teaching Award for Non-Tenure Line Faculty has been passed into the
final round of competition. I have known Galina Khmelkova for the
past 9 or so years and, in fact, brought her in as a Visiting Scholar
from Volgograd University, subsequently hiring her as a full-time
FT-I in our department to teach Russian. During that time I observed
a number of her classes and co-taught several courses with her
including intensive Russian in the Summer Language Institute for the
past 4-5 years. She is simply the best teacher of the Russian
language I have ever met. She has taught beginning to advanced
language courses in Russian for us, as well as content courses both
in English and Russian. She has an incredible amount of energy in
class, is always meticulously prepared, and devotes an extraordinary
amount of time and patience to her students to elicit from them
constant improvement and excellence. Thanks to Professor Khmelkova, I
feel that the level of spoken Russian of our undergraduate majors
ranks with any of the best undergraduate programs in the U.S. She has
been a tireless worker and contributor to the program, often meeting
with students outside of class and assisting them with Russian Club
activities. I can't imagine a worthier candidate for the award and
give her my highest endorsement for the award.

Sincerely,


Michael M. Naydan
Professor and Director, Program in Slavic and East European Languages

Professor Michael M. Naydan
Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures
303 Burrowes Bldg.
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
email:  mmn3 at psu.edu
phone: 814-865-1675
fax: 814-863-5561

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