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The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is proud to honor Carter Wilbur, BA Area Studies; International Studies '91, with the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award in Russian and Eurasian studies.

During the 2025–2026 academic year, the IIR launched Leaving and Belonging, a digital storytelling initiative developed as part of its arts, culture, and storytelling initiative. This project complements the IIR’s broader mission to generate and amplify relevant research on immigrants and immigration to the United States by pairing research on migration with community engagement, using storytelling to amplify personal narratives and highlight lived experiences. 

Master's student Ilya Kim, 2025 CHSS Dean's Challenge Scholarship recipient, is expanding his undergraduate capstone project on the Russian island of Sakhalin in a project his advisors call a "fascinating case study." Discover how Kim's journey from Russia to South Korea shaped his academic interests.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is proud to honor Kira Clark, BA Foreign Languages; Russian Studies '03, with the 2025 Distinguished Alumni award in Russian and Eurasian studies. Clark is the founder the nonprofit organization, K9s Serving Vets, and a U.S. Army veteran.

The year-long series seeks to foster cross-disciplinary AI literacy, explore how AI shapes and is shaped by culture, ethics, history, and society, and provide opportunities for research incubation and exchange.

Meet Anka Whelan, a Global Affairs and Eurasian Studies double major who graduated this spring, in 2025. As an accelerated master's student, she will complete her MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution with a concentration in the Dynamics of Violence here at George Mason. With her interdisciplinary education and strong understanding of the Russian language and culture, she hopes to bring this expertise into the field of international security, where she can research and analyze the war in Ukraine and its human rights and security implications.

Dr. Johanna Bockman, Associate Professor of Global Affairs, presented her ongoing research project titled "Beyond Debtors as Undisciplined, Ignorant Others: Socialist Yugoslavia as Creditor and Debtor" on March 19 to other residential program fellows, faculty, and staff.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is proud to honor Leena Halabi, BA Global Affairs; Russian and Eurasian Studies '14, with the 2024 Distinguished Alumni award in Russian and Eurasian studies. Halabi is a social media analyst with Voice of America.