[ASEEES] How to Support European University at St. Petersburg

[Park, Lynda]

Dear ASEEES members:



As you may be aware, the European University at St. Petersburg (EUSP) has been dealing with legal disputes over its license for a number of years, and is currently facing a critical challenge.  Because of the urgency, we are sending out the following letter from Bill Rosenberg and Harley Balzer regarding what you could do to support EUSP.  The EUSP is an active institutional member of ASEEES and a vital partner institution for many of you.   ASEEES issued a statement of support in December 2016: www.aseees.org/advocacy/aseees-supports-eusp<http://www.aseees.org/advocacy/aseees-supports-eusp>   ASEEES will be issuing another letter of support to the University, as requested in the letter below.



March 27, 2017

Dear Colleagues:



You may have heard from various sources that the European University at St. Petersburg has been fending off a series of legal assaults, apparently motivated by a combination of Russian nationalist sentiment and commercial interests. A court decision last month would suspend the University's license, but included a one-month delay to permit an appeal. An appeals court has just ruled that further examination of the case is necessary, and should focus on substance rather than technicalities. The next court review is scheduled for April. The University's license remains valid for now.



Many colleagues have asked what might be done to help the University. In the current environment, direct criticism of court decisions by foreign scholars could be used as evidence confirming that the European University should be viewed as a foreign agent.



But there are at least two things foreign colleagues may do that could help.


*         One is to send directly to the University your expressions of support. The University will be able to collect these, post them on its web site, and use them to make a strong case for its international reputation.  Please send the letters to: rectors_office at eu.spb.ru<mailto:rectors_office at eu.spb.ru>


*         The second, and perhaps more important way to help is to encourage your Russian colleagues to speak out in support of the European University. The involvement of the Russian scholarly community was of tremendous importance when the University was threatened by the fire inspectors several years ago. More recently, mobilization by Russian sociologists, including rivals VTsIOM and FOM, played an important role in the Levada Center being removed from the list of "foreign agents."



Our colleagues at the European University continue their teaching and active scholarly publications and activities.  The upcoming conference, "DIGNITY AS A HISTORICAL CONCEPT AND AS A KEY CATEGORY OF OUR TIME,"<https://eu.spb.ru/en/announcements/17364-dostoinstvo-kak-istoricheskoe-ponyatie-i-tsentralnaya-kategoriya-nashego-vremeni> with Keynote speaker Homi Bhabha, to be held in partnership with Novoe Literaturnoe Obozrenie is just one example of the vibrant intellectual life the EU helps to stimulate.



Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or want further information.



Sincerely,



William G. Rosenberg, Deputy Chair of the EU Board of Trustees, President of the Fund for the European University <wgr at umich.edu<mailto:wgr at umich.edu>>



Harley Balzer, Member of the EU Board of Trustees, Vice-President of the Fund for the European University <balzerh at georgetown.edu<mailto:balzerh at georgetown.edu>>



Lynda Park
Executive Director
Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
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