Friday, August 11, 2023
Greetings!
Welcome to Indiana University’s Byrnes Institute (REEI), which for more than six decades has enabled generations of undergraduate and graduate students to acquire the language skills, area studies knowledge, and analytical tools they need to succeed in careers in academia, international affairs, business, library and information science, research and analysis, and many others. We are pleased to announce that thanks to a generous gift from Shaun M. and Jill F. Byrnes, The Byrnes Institute has been named in honor of the late Robert F. Byrnes, a visionary professor of History who founded the institute in 1958. The Byrnes Institute was Indiana University’s first area studies center; it has grown to be the university’s largest, boasting over 90 affiliated faculty members across the campus who do groundbreaking research and teach dynamic courses on the Russian and East European (REE) region.
Indiana’s Byrnes Institute is recognized as one of the top Russian and East European Area Studies institutions in the United States, and we have been a continuously-funded U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource/FLAS Center for more than sixty years. As an innovative hub of training and expertise on Russia and Eastern Europe, our mission is to expose a range of students with diverse career goals to the languages, cultures, and politics of the REE region by supporting research and instruction of the highest caliber at all levels. Byrnes Institute alumni are living and working across the globe, confirming Kurt Vonnegut’s famous line, “I don’t know what it is about Hoosiers. But wherever you go there is always a Hoosier doing something very important there.” We are proud of our vibrant Byrnes Institute alumni network, a valuable resource of expertise, networks, and advice for generations of Byrnes Institute graduates.
Like many of our students, you may already have spent some time in the region, studying, touring, serving in the military, or working as a Peace Corps volunteer or for a multinational organization. The REEI degree will give you the additional academic, linguistic, and professional qualifications you need to build a successful career in government, academia, business, or the nonprofit sector. If you have not been to the region and have until now been studying the languages and cultures of the area here in the United States, The Byrnes Institute offers opportunities to travel, study, and intern abroad in connection with your study program. If you particular interest is in Russia, be sure to check out our dynamic Russian Studies Workshop, a Carnegie-supported program for strengthening Russian Studies at IU and across the world.
The Byrnes Institute offers a wide variety of programming, including lectures by affiliated faculty and visiting scholars, roundtables and symposia devoted to timely themes, and others. One unique Byrnes Institute feature is the “Прямая речь!” (“Straight Talk!”) lecture series, which offers Russian-language lectures by native speakers on a variety of topics. We collaborate with other area studies centers in the Hamilton Lugar School and units across campus to develop and co-sponsor events of interest to IU students, faculty, and the community at large. The Byrnes Institute works closely with the IU Ukrainian Studies Organization to promote Ukrainian studies and language study at IU.
The information on our website will answer many of your questions about our graduate degree programs. We are happy to respond to any other questions you may have. You may contact us by phone or email. Best of all would be a personal meeting at Indiana University if you have an opportunity to visit Bloomington. We can show you around our beautiful campus, introduce you to students and faculty members, and discuss in detail your plans for study and career. We look forward to seeing you.
Sincerely,
Halina Goldberg
The Byrnes Institute Director