Bio
My career as a Russian historian began during the Cold War. My first trip to Russia was in 1963, with subsequent trips in 1977 and 1985. Between 1989 and 2005, when Russian archives opened to historians, I traveled to Russia once and sometimes twice a year for research and lectures at conferences, universities and on Volga River cruise ships. After 2005, research on an American entrepreneur who lived in Paris and Nice necessitated trips to France. However, I still correspond with Russian colleagues (and now French ones) through e-mail and Skype.
My two foci in Russian history have been politics in Late Imperial Russia and health care in Imperial and Soviet Russia. I continue to publish on these subjects. I am currently translating a Russian book about a family in Imperial and Soviet times.
I was considered a capable, popular teacher at UCD, winning many teaching awards. Though Emeritus, I routinely receive e-mails from former students, write recommendations for them, etc. I have continued membership in professional organizations, attend international conferences, and lecture to community groups on subjects dealing with Russian and East European history. I was President of the Colorado Slovak Society, 2006-2007, and my husband and I will be hosting a Czech dinner for Opera Colorado's production of Dvorak's Rusalka in 2011.