The Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures gratefully acknowledges the support of its friends and alumni. Gifts to the department are used to enrich student opportunities.
Fellowships & Awards
Jerzy Kolodziej Excellence in Teaching Award

This award is given to one graduate student associate instructor every year. Established in 2013, it is named in honor of Dr. Jerzy Kolodziej, B.A. 1962, Ph.D. 1984, Slavic professor emeritus, who retired in 2009. Kolodziej spent over thirty years working with Russian and Polish languages at Indiana University, including over twenty years as director of the Summer Workshop in Slavic and Eastern European Languages. He played a pivotal role in the success of the Summer Language Workshop and gave years of dedicated insight to the department. Donations to this fund help ensure that exceptional teaching among our graduate student instructors is recognized in his honor.
Neatrour-Edgerton Fellowship

Charles Neatrour, widower of department alumna Elizabeth (Betty Jo) Baylor Neatrour (1935-2002, Ph.D. 1973), endowed the Neatrour-Edgerton Fellowship for graduate study. This award honors the memory of both Elizabeth Neatrour and (at her request) the late William B. Edgerton (1915-2004), her IU mentor.
William Hopkins

William Hopkins (Ph.D. 1977) led an effort to acknowledge the exceptional training offered by émigré Russian language teachers affiliated with the department and the Summer Language Workshop in the 1950s and 1960s. He and other alumni have made gifts toward the installation of a memorial plaque on campus to recognize their former teachers.
Less Commonly Taught Language awards
These awards are given to undergraduates studying Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Czech, Polish, and Ukrainian. These are one-semester scholarships given preferentially, but not exclusively, to students who have completed at least one year of instruction in the language and are continuing to the next level. One student may receive as many as two scholarships in a single year, or two individuals may receive a single semester of support in each language. Students who are interested in this award should identify themselves to their language instructor early in the spring semester to be considered for the following academic year.
Support our work
If you would like more information about making a gift to the department, please contact the department chair, Russell Valentino (812-855-3272). The Office of Advancement in the College of Arts and Sciences also offers assistance in making gifts.