Russian exchange students to visit IU this week

A group of students from the Southern Federal University in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, will visit IU this week through an IU exchange program.\nIU’s Summer Workshop in Slavic, East European and Central Asian Languages will host a welcome reception for the group at 7 p.m. today in Willkie Quad, said Steven Franks, professor and chair of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.\nThe visit comes after a group of IU students spent two weeks in May studying public health in Rostov-on-Don, Franks said. He added that the ceremony will give the students a chance to mingle with IU students and get a taste for the University. \nThe exchange program is funded by a two-year $400,000 grant, which was awarded in 2007 to IU’s Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis School of Public and Environmental Affairs, according to an IU press release. The grant was awarded to help further Russian language ability and improve understanding of international public health policy, according to the press release.