If you’re a student engaged in area studies, the financial pressure may be even more daunting, if not insurmountable. Especially if you’re focusing on Russia.

Any Russian-related study program includes language training beyond what the University offers. It will likely also involve overseas travel for conferences and field research, something that can put a sizable dent anyone’s pocketbook, let alone a full-time student without the benefit of a salary.

Frank Stronach, Chairman of Magna International, Inc. The Magna Fund, endowed at $90,000.00 annually for five years will support students and faculty engaged in Russian-related studies at Carleton University.

For this reason, academic units like the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (EURUS) rely heavily on outside funding to support the research activities of their students and faculty.

Until recently, EURUS received significant funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for several Russian-related projects. These were multi-million dollar projects which provided research jobs for students and funding to organize conferences and build collaborative relationships with external organizations.

But two years ago, CIDA withdrew their funds for Russian-related studies. Consequently, the Institute was facing a financial crisis which threatened the academic and financial welfare of its students and faculty. With no outside funding, the Institute could offer little more than a roster of Russian-related courses and access to academic supervision. While EURUS is known for delivering courses of the highest quality, students and faculty needed more just a graduate curriculum to really engage in Russian-related studies.

The time had come to move beyond relying solely on government support. With the assistance of the Russian Embassy, an appeal was sent out to companies who were commercially engaged with Russia. And, of the twelve companies initially contacted, the first to respond was Frank Stronach of Magna International, Inc., a manufacturer of automobile spare parts with a large factory just outside of St. Petersburg.

Stronach met with Political Science professor and former Institute Director Piotr Dutkiewicz to talk about possibilities, and the result was the establishment of the Magna Fund: $90,000.00 annually for five years – almost half a million dollars in total – to support students and faculty engaged in Russian-related studies at Carleton University.

While particularly relevant to students and faculty in EURUS, the fund is designed in such a way that any student or faculty member pursuing Russian-related studies or research may apply for funding, including those from Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology, History and the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.

The fund will take the form of bursaries to support senior undergraduate students and graduate students who need to travel to Russia for language training or to conduct field research, and grants to support faculty in these units who travel to Russia or elsewhere for to attend conferences or conduct research related to Russian-area studies.

Funds will also be provided to establish a course in business in Russia, or another course on topic related to Russian-related studies, delivered jointly by the Institute and the Department of Political Science, and to support travel for Russian scholars and senior officials to deliver seminars and public lectures in Canada.

It may still be a struggle for a student of Russian-related studies to pay all the bills. But, thanks to Frank Stronach and Magna International, it’s no longer impossible.

Therese Jennissen, professor of Social Work, willl develop a new graduate-level course on comparative social policy, to be offered in January, 2012.

Her new graduate course, Comparative Social Policy: Canada and the European Union, introduces a comparative approach to social policy by focusing first on particular initiatives in Canada and then comparing them to similar policies in selected countries of the European Union.

While people aren’t always aware that the study of social policy is important for social workers, it is one of the main streams of the MSW program at Carleton. “Social workers are at the interface of the policy and the grass roots community, that is, the people who rely on the policies,” says Jennissen. “For example, we see, firsthand, the devastating effects that cutbacks to social programs and services have on those who rely on these services.”

“Social workers have important insights into social issues,” Jennissen explains. “These insights can be central for innovating, designing, and implementing social programs and services that are responsive to the changing needs of the beneficiaries of the policies.”

These insights become particularly important in the context of today’s global economic instability. According to Jennissen, there is much to be learned by comparing Canada’s approach to social policy with that of other countries.

“Several countries in the European Union historically have had innovative, well-developed social policy infrastructures and it is important to examine how and what they are doing in current conditions,” says Jennissen. “Comparing and contrasting what is occurring in countries that are similar to ours is an important educational exercise.”

While the course will select specific policies from a broad menu of social policy issues as they relate to social work (long-term care for seniors, pensions, child care, health and mental health, youth programs, unemployment, immigration, poverty, post secondary education, among others) the course is not limited to, nor will it appeal only to, social work students. The course will also be of interest to students of European studies, political science, sociology, public administration, law, and Canadian studies. The course will be offered in January, 2012.

Those interested in learning more about the course are invited to contact Professor Jennissen at therese_jennissen@carleton.ca.