Giving to Our Department

Dear Alumni and Friends,

State funding for higher education continues to decline even as more is asked of it. Although we are accustomed to doing more with less, we can surely do more with more! You can help us keep the many activities we undertake remain robust by donating to our Endowment funds. As you can see from our listing of donors past and present, the Slavic Department is generously supported by our alumni, friends in the community, and even current and retired faculty members.

Our first priority among ongoing efforts is the Department's General Endowment Fund, the main uses of which are: awarding book and small cash prizes for excellent academic performance by students of Slavic languages; inviting prominent scholars to the department guest lecturers; recruiting talented graduate students; purchasing reference materials for the Parker Slavic Library; supplementing student travel to academic meetings. Our second priority is building the Joseph L. Conrad Memorial Award, established to support students whose excellence in the Slavic languages have prompted them to study Slavic languages and culture study abroad and, at later stages of their student careers, present scholarly papers at conferences. Finally, the Czech Opportunity Fund aims to create a private endowment fund sufficient to hire a half-time lecturer in Czech language for the Slavic Department.

Our longtime goal is to establish student scholarships and fellowships that will encourage the best and brightest students to take advantage of the educational opportunities available in the Slavic Department and we actively seek donors who share these goals. Such a goal can be met best through substantial gifts that can generate enough funds each year to meet tuition costs and provide stipends.

We are of course equally grateful for any and all donations to the Slavic Department's Endowment funds. We are also open to the creation of new funds if your desire for giving leads in a different direction or you wish to honor a special designee. No matter what, the donations you make are always put towards the goal of making the student experience in Slavic studies useful, meaningful, and effective. Please help us make the Slavic Department's excellence continue into the future.

Sincerely,
Marc L. Greenberg, Chair and Professor

Donor Recognition »

You may give online by using the buttons below. Online giving is secure, quick and simple. Click the area you would like to support and you will be redirected to the website of KU Endowment, the non- profit fundraising organization that supports KU.

If you prefer to mail your check, to ensure that your donation is credited to the Slavic Department, please make your check out to "KUEA- Slavic Department" and write "for Slavic Department programs" in the memo portion of your check or specify this in an accompanying letter. Send your donation c/o Chair, Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures; University of Kansas, 1445 Jayhawk Blvd., Rm. 2133; Lawrence, KS 66045-7590.

It is possible to name scholarship funds to honor individuals. If you wish to establish a fund, please call Professor Marc L. Greenberg (Chair) at 785-864-2349 or e-mail at or the Department Administrative Assistant, Rae Ann Brown, at 785-864-3313, and we will help you work with the KU Endowment Association.

Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures Fund

The Slavic Department's highest fundraising priority is building its unrestricted General Endowment Fund, which can be and is used flexibly for a number of purposes. The main uses to which these funds are put are: book and small cash prizes for excellent academic performance by students of Slavic languages; inviting prominent scholars to the department guest lecturers; recruiting talented graduate students; purchasing reference materials for the Parker Slavic Library; supplementing student travel to academic meetings. In the future we hope that the account will grow sufficiently to establish scholarship and fellowship funding to outstanding students. We encourage our friends and alumni to consider a substantial donation for this purpose, which can be named in honor of an appropriate designee. We are grateful for all donations to the Department's General Endowment Fund, both from our loyal annual contributors as well as from occasional donors. Even in those years when you cannot donate or cannot donate as much as in previous years, please stay in touch with the Slavic Department. We are always happy when our alumni and friends send us their news!

Joseph L. Conrad Memorial Award

Prof. Joseph L. Conrad (1933-2003) taught in the KU Slavic Department from 1966 until his death. A beloved and devoted teacher of Russian literature and foklore, builder of the Slavic Department in its early days, he was known for his lively and animated delivery style in the classroom and at scholarly conferences. His family (spouse Galina, children Belinda, Karla, Allan) donated generously to establish this fund in his memory for the purpose of supporting students whose interests in the Slavic languages have prompted them to study Slavic languages and culture study abroad and, at later stages of their student careers, present scholarly papers at conferences. Prof. Conrad loved to travel and this fund perpetuates the memory of his life, activity, and scholarship and in so doing contributes to the advancement of the field of Slavic humanistic inquiry. We encourage alumni and friends who knew Joseph L. Conrad and benefited from his teaching, as well as those who believe in Prof. Conrad's ideals, to contribute to the enrichment of Slavic students' careers by contributing to the Joseph L. Conrad Memorial Award Fund.

Czech Opportunity Fund

Spearheaded and driven by Prof. Edith W. Clowes's Bohemistic interests, the Czech Opportunity Fund aims to create a private endowment fund sufficient to hire a half-time lecturer in Czech language for the Slavic Department. While the Slavic Department recognizes the Czech heritage in the state of Kansas, enrollments in Czech, when offered in the past, have not risen sufficiently to warrant the expenditure of state funding for its regular offering. Private funding for the position will allow the line to be independent of state budgetary considerations and thus contribute to the enrichment of the KU Slavic Department's language offerings. We encourage donors who are interested in seeing Czech language added to the already rich language curriculum available in the Department-- Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Ukrainian--to donate to this fund. Both small and large donations are welcomed. The fundraising target for the line is a half million dollars. Substantial donations covering half or more of the target may be named for an appropriate designee.