UI Associate Professor of Instruction and Coordinator of the Russian program, Irina Kostina, was awarded the International Programs’ Special Projects Award to host a virtual conference about a conflict-ridden region near Russia titled “Caucasus: A Mosaic of Histories and Cultures.”

Douglas Baker, a senior majoring in piano and Japanese at the University of Iowa, has received a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Award to further pursue his research abroad in a project titled, “The Japanese Style in Taijiro Goh’s Piano Music.” In this project, Douglas will gain access to unpublished compositions in archives held in Japan, where he plans to explore the methods Taijiro Goh used in order to express a Japanese style in his compositions. Goh was notably recognized as the composer of Japan’s first violin concerto in 1935.