Possible Russian program elimination at Portland Community College

[Catharine Nepomnyashchy]

Dear Kristine,

I'm very sorry that I've been swamped (out of the country for much of 
February) and haven't gotten the letter off to you as promised.  I should 
be able to do it in the next few days.  I'd just like to know if anything 
has changed in your situation before doing so.  Thanks and best wishes, 
Cathy

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005, Kristine L. Shmakov wrote:

> Catherine,
>
> Thank you so much for your offer to write a letter of support. Having one
> from you a president of AATSEEL should really help. I also appreciate your
> request of others on the SEELANGS list to also write as well. I have
> received a few letters from people on the list, but not the numbers for
> which I've been hoping. I really appreciate you taking time to do this. I'll
> keep you updated on developments.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Kristine Shmakov
>
>
> on 1/30/05 6:56 PM, Catharine Nepomnyashchy at cn29 at COLUMBIA.EDU wrote:
>
>> Dear Kristine,
>>
>> I will write a letter in support of preserving your program as President
>> of AATSEEL.  I encourage others to write in support as well.  Best wishes,
>> Cathy
>>
>> On Sun, 16 Jan 2005, Kristine L. Shmakov wrote:
>>
>>> I am Kristine Shmakov, the full-time Russian instructor and Russian
>>> Department Chair at Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon. I just
>>> joined the list and have not had a chance to introduce myself. Now I need to
>>> use my introduction to ask for your help in preventing elimination of the
>>> Russian language program at Portland Community College. Oregon Community
>>> Colleges are being forced to make huge cuts over the next two years due to
>>> lack of state funding. PCC itself will have to cut $18 million or 8% of its
>>> budget. We have just been notified by administration that cuts will be
>>> narrow and deep, meaning that they are looking to eliminate entire programs.
>>> All academic and non-academic programs are now on the table in a closed
>>> budget process. We are very concerned that the Board and administrators will
>>> consider it frivolous to offer five languages at PCC, and that they will not
>>> understand the great importance of Russian to the Portland-Vancouver
>>> community. Programs chosen for elimination will be announced at the
>>> beginning of March, and then will have only a week to prepare a defense
>>> before final budget decisions are made. I need to collect letters in support
>>> of our program now, in case I should need them. In the past, programs that
>>> have received strong levels of support from the community have been spared.
>>> I would greatly appreciate it if each of you could write a letter in support
>>> of the PCC Russian program and send it directly to me. If you could also
>>> pass this information onto your colleagues not on the SEELANGS list, as well
>>> as anyone you know connected with Russian, it would greatly help our
>>> efforts. I hope to amass hundreds of letters to convince the Board that a
>>> strong and affordable Russian program is important to the community and that
>>> it must be retained.
>>>
>>> Please send your letters of support to either my home e-mail or address:
>>>
>>> kshmakov at pdxlink.com
>>> or Kristine Shmakov 10810 SW 62nd Place Portland, Oregon 97219
>>>
>>> Members of the immigrant community are welcome to write letters in Russian
>>> if they prefer.
>>>
>>> The PCC Russian program started sixteen years ago to meet the growing need
>>> for affordable Russian classes in Portland. It is a two-year program that
>>> offers college transferable first and second year courses, as well as
>>> Russian culture classes. My students transfer to state universities and
>>> prestigious private institutions where they continue to study Russian at
>>> higher levels. We have the largest first-year Russian enrollments in the
>>> state of Oregon, with over 120 students taking first year classes each year.
>>> Our courses regularly close with 35 students in each section. Russian has
>>> been the only language the last two falls to have every seat filled in all
>>> courses offered. Our program has very little attrition, so we keep our high
>>> numbers throughout the year.
>>>
>>> Part of the reason for our brimming enrollments is that Russian has become
>>> the second most demanded language by Oregon employers. The
>>> Portland-Vancouver Russian-speaking immigrant community seen the largest per
>>> capita growth anywhere in the US, with a 70% increase over the last ten
>>> years. As a result, students are no longer taking Russian just to fulfill a
>>> degree requirement. With such a strong program and great community need for
>>> the language, it seems absurd to consider eliminating Russian. However, in
>>> such dire financial times, I cannot make this assumption and not act in
>>> defense. This is why I need your letters of support now. If you have any
>>> further questions or suggestions, please contact me at (503) 977-4841.
>>>
>>> Thank you so much for your help, and I¹ll keep you informed of developments.
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>> Kristine Shmakov
>>> Russian Instructor and Russian Department Chair
>>> Portland Community College
>>> Portland, Oregon
>>>
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>>>
>>
>> Catharine Nepomnyashchy
>> Director, Harriman Institute
>> Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Russian Literature and
>> Chair, Slavic Department, Barnard College
>> phone: (212) 854-6213
>>
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>
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> Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
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>

Catharine Nepomnyashchy
Director, Harriman Institute
Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Russian Literature and
Chair, Slavic Department, Barnard College
phone: (212) 854-6213

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