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Delegation wants to improve Rostov ties

By JIM SCHUH
of The Gazette
A delegation of volunteers just back from Rostov-Veliky, Stevens Point's Russian Sister City, will be working during the next several months to develop agreements to improve and enhance educational, cultural and business ties between Stevens Point and the Rostov area.

The volunteers included Mary Thurmaier, a Stevens Point Board of Education member and Sister City co-chair, who led the group; UW-Stevens Point College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) Dean Gerard McKenna; Stevens Point City Clerk Victoria Zdroik; District 3 County Board Supervisor William Zimdars; Alternative High School Principal Elizabeth Fulton; Sister City Co-Chair Susan Zach; and Portage County Gazette columnist Jim Schuh. They left Stevens Point Aug. 8, and returned on Aug. 16.

Retired SPASH history teacher Anton Anday, who has made four previous Sister City trips, also traveled with the group to Russia, but was denied admission to the country because of passport problems. Anday was forced to return home to Plover.

While in Rostov, a city half again as big as Stevens Point, the group planted a tree in the boulevard in front of the high school in memory of the late Scott Schultz, a former Stevens Point mayor and school board member. Schultz was active in the Sister City program and had traveled to Rostov three years ago. A special plaque in English and Russian commemorating Schultz' contributions to the Sister City program will be placed near the tree.

Thurmaier said the group went to Russia, seeking "to reinforce our commitment for exchanges between Stevens Point and Rostov-Veliky, to talk about the kinds of exchanges as well as some of the problems we have seen, and to make changes."

The problems mainly center on the difficulty in obtaining U. S. visas for Russian teachers and students to come to Stevens Point. Thurmaier and other members of the group spent time with American officials at the U. S. Embassy in Moscow discussing solutions to the problems.

As a result, Thurmaier now has an American Embassy contact in Moscow who will coach Russian students preparing to obtain visas. "That really lifted my spirits," Thurmaier said. She explained that during the past two years, the Russian students trying to come to the United States for a semester here faced hardships in securing American visas, and had to return to the U. S. Embassy three or four times, paying a $45 fee each time, plus buying train tickets to and from Moscow - something they could not afford to do. Thurmaier noted the U. S. Embassy has tended to think that all Russian students who want to come to this country are immigrants who will never return home.

"I felt we accomplished everything we set out to do, with amicable understanding and agreement," Thurmaier said. "I could not have asked for a better and more diversified group," she added. "They worked together to accomplish the goals we set."

Thurmaier added, "The whole trip was worth our time and effort."

The Sister City program raised $5,000 in 1998 from an auction and dance, and donated the money to Rostov to assist with remodeling a school. On the most recent trip, the group carried along a $2,500 stipend from the city of Stevens Point to help finish the project. Thurmaier says Rostov officials will provide details on how they actually used the funds.

The Stevens Point contingent held meetings in Rostov with Mayor Anatoly Rudenko, his chief assistant Nadezhda Sokolova, School Superintendent Alexandra Skvortsova, High School Principal Alexei Gavrilov and Assistant Elementary Principal Sergei Morsounin. Rudenko and Skvortsova visited Stevens Point three years ago.

So far, educational exchanges have been the most successful, according to Anday. "Cultural and business exchanges haven't developed as much as we would like," he says. Anday suggests such areas as the paper, furniture and agribusiness industries for further exploration.

McKenna, the UW-SP COFAC dean, opened discussions on cultural exchanges with officials in Rostov and Yaroslavl, a city of more than 600,000 about an hour's drive from Rostov. He said Rostov "seemed to be interested in cultural exchanges in two areas - classical and folk music." He added, "We're trying to see if there is some opportunity for them to send their people here for a short time - perhaps a week or two." McKenna added they could do public performances and teach master classes in their fields. In exchange, McKenna said, "perhaps we could send over some of our (faculty members)" for the same kind of thing. "We had a very cordial meeting," he added.

McKenna also met with the Yaroslavl Pedagogical University Rector V. V. Afanasyev and Deputy Rector Mikhail Novikov, where he also suggested short-term exchanges of faculty. After discussions with UW-SP Chancellor Thomas George, Provost and Vice-Chancellor William Meyer and Associate Vice-Chancellor David Staszak, McKenna will follow up with more detailed proposals. Yaroslavl University already has exchange programs with 28 universities, including four in the United States.

Yaroslavl University also may be open to semester abroad programs with the UW-SP. McKenna said officials suggested they would customize curricula for American students, but says he first wants to discuss those ideas with George and Staszak.

Thurmaier said Rostov municipal and educational officials accepted an invitation to visit Stevens Point again next summer. Detailed planning for that visit will begin next spring. There's also a possibility of getting a Russian cosmonaut who grew up in Rostov to visit Stevens Point.



	Delegation wants to improve Rostov ties By JIM SCHUH of The Gazette A delegation of volunteers just back from Rostov-Veliky, Stevens Point's Russian Sister City, will be working during the next several months to develop agreements to improve and enhance educational, cultural and business ties between Stevens Point and the Rostov area. The volunteers included Mary Thurmaier, a Stevens Point Board of Education member and Sister City co-chair, who led the group; UW-Stevens Point College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) Dean Gerard McKenna; Stevens Point City Clerk Victoria Zdroik; District 3 County Board Supervisor William Zimdars; Alternative High School Principal Elizabeth Fulton; Sister City Co-Chair Susan Zach; and Portage County Gazette columnist Jim Schuh. They left Stevens Point Aug. 8, and returned on Aug. 16. Retired SPASH history teacher Anton Anday, who has made four previous Sister City trips, also traveled with the group to Russia, but was denied admission to the country because of passport problems. Anday was forced to return home to Plover. While in Rostov, a city half again as big as Stevens Point, the group planted a tree in the boulevard in front of the high school in memory of the late Scott Schultz, a former Stevens Point mayor and school board member. Schultz was active in the Sister City program and had traveled to Rostov three years ago. A special plaque in English and Russian commemorating Schultz' contributions to the Sister City program will be placed near the tree. Thurmaier said the group went to Russia, seeking "to reinforce our commitment for exchanges between Stevens Point and Rostov-Veliky, to talk about the kinds of exchanges as well as some of the problems we have seen, and to make changes." The problems mainly center on the difficulty in obtaining U. S. visas for Russian teachers and students to come to Stevens Point. Thurmaier and other members of the group spent time with American officials at the U. S. Embassy in Moscow discussing solutions to the problems. As a result, Thurmaier now has an American Embassy contact in Moscow who will coach Russian students preparing to obtain visas. "That really lifted my spirits," Thurmaier said. She explained that during the past two years, the Russian students trying to come to the United States for a semester here faced hardships in securing American visas, and had to return to the U. S. Embassy three or four times, paying a $45 fee each time, plus buying train tickets to and from Moscow - something they could not afford to do. Thurmaier noted the U. S. Embassy has tended to think that all Russian students who want to come to this country are immigrants who will never return home. "I felt we accomplished everything we set out to do, with amicable understanding and agreement," Thurmaier said. "I could not have asked for a better and more diversified group," she added. "They worked together to accomplish the goals we set." Thurmaier added, "The whole trip was worth our time and effort." The Sister City program raised $5,000 in 1998 from an auction and dance, and donated the money to Rostov to assist with remodeling a school. On the most recent trip, the group carried along a $2,500 stipend from the city of Stevens Point to help finish the project. Thurmaier says Rostov officials will provide details on how they actually used the funds. The Stevens Point contingent held meetings in Rostov with Mayor Anatoly Rudenko, his chief assistant Nadezhda Sokolova, School Superintendent Alexandra Skvortsova, High School Principal Alexei Gavrilov and Assistant Elementary Principal Sergei Morsounin. Rudenko and Skvortsova visited Stevens Point three years ago. So far, educational exchanges have been the most successful, according to Anday. "Cultural and business exchanges haven't developed as much as we would like," he says. Anday suggests such areas as the paper, furniture and agribusiness industries for further exploration. McKenna, the UW-SP COFAC dean, opened discussions on cultural exchanges with officials in Rostov and Yaroslavl, a city of more than 600,000 about an hour's drive from Rostov. He said Rostov "seemed to be interested in cultural exchanges in two areas - classical and folk music." He added, "We're trying to see if there is some opportunity for them to send their people here for a short time - perhaps a week or two." McKenna added they could do public performances and teach master classes in their fields. In exchange, McKenna said, "perhaps we could send over some of our (faculty members)" for the same kind of thing. "We had a very cordial meeting," he added. McKenna also met with the Yaroslavl Pedagogical University Rector V. V. Afanasyev and Deputy Rector Mikhail Novikov, where he also suggested short-term exchanges of faculty. After discussions with UW-SP Chancellor Thomas George, Provost and Vice-Chancellor William Meyer and Associate Vice-Chancellor David Staszak, McKenna will follow up with more detailed proposals. Yaroslavl University already has exchange programs with 28 universities, including four in the United States. Yaroslavl University also may be open to semester abroad programs with the UW-SP. McKenna said officials suggested they would customize curricula for American students, but says he first wants to discuss those ideas with George and Staszak. Thurmaier said Rostov municipal and educational officials accepted an invitation to visit Stevens Point again next summer. Detailed planning for that visit will begin next spring. There's also a possibility of getting a Russian cosmonaut who grew up in Rostov to visit Stevens Point.