Secretary Spellings Announces First U.S.-Russia Program Grants Awarded to Foster Research Partnerships in Higher Education

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today joined Andrei Fursenko, Russia’s Minister of Education and Science, in announcing the first grants awarded to three American and three Russian universities under the “United States - Russia Program: Improving Research and Educational Activities in Higher Education.”

“Colleges and universities must prepare graduates for work in today’s increasingly competitive and international marketplace,” Secretary Spellings said. “These grants provide a unique opportunity for the U.S. and Russia to collaborate on research in language, energy, health sciences and advanced energy technologies. The challenges we face on these critical issues are too complex and global for any one nation to tackle alone.”

Spellings noted that these grants - totaling nearly $600,000 -- stem from a Memorandum of Understanding that Secretary Spellings and Minister Fursenko signed in May 2006 that symbolized our nations’ joint commitment to improving education and promoting new exchanges. For this competition, institutions will be funded by their respective government agencies; in the U.S., the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, and in Russia, the Federal Agency on Education of the Russian Federation.

Following is information on the grants:

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The University of Iowa - Asian and Salvic Languages, Liberal Arts and Sciences. Grant amount: $158,726. Russian Partner: Plethanov Russian Academy of Economics.

This grant will fund the design of a program in specialized foreign language training, mathematics and science education. The project will foster the exchange of advanced language students and expert teachers, increase the number of U.S. professionals with specialized, advanced Russian language proficiency and create advanced English-language modules for Russians studying U.S. economics, education and business.
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The University of Maryland - Research Administration and Advancement Research. Grant amount: $217,476. Russian Partner: Moscow Engineering Physics Institute.

The University of Maryland will lead a consortium of four universities and two national laboratories to develop common curricula and teaching methods for the training of nuclear engineers.
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The Trustees of Indiana University - Department of Slavic Languages, College of Arts and Sciences. Grant amount: $199,093. Russian Partner: Southern Federal University.

This partnership will support students of both nations in attaining higher levels of language ability and will be integrated with a joint research program focusing on global public health. Faculty and students from many fields and disciplines such as environmental science, biology, economics and political science will participate.

Additional information on the “United States-Russia Program: Improving Research and Educational Activities in Higher Education” grants is available at http://www.ed.gov/programs/fipserussia/index.html.