We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Jennifer Wistrand has joined the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center (REEEC) at the University of Illinois as Associate Director.
Dr. Jennifer Wistrand is a cultural anthropologist whose research, teaching, and professional interests span our region. She holds a Doctorate in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis. Her areas of research include, but are not limited to, migration and forced displacement in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, building on experience in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. For three years, she served as a term appointee and a Mellon / ACLS / Franklin Fellow at the U.S. Department of State, including in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. She has written for both specialized journals and publications aimed at broader policy audiences, including the Journal on Migration and Human Security and New Eastern Europe. From 2023 to 2025, she served as the Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. In this role, she briefed government officials and policy makers and provided commentary for the media about international affairs in Russia, Ukraine, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia.
Dr. Wistrand brings extensive teaching experience and a wealth of ideas for new classes to our Center, where she will also be Director of Undergraduate Studies. She has been an Assistant Teaching Professor at Miami University (Ohio) and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Wistrand to REEEC and look forward to the expertise, experience, and new perspectives she will bring to the Center. We are excited to work with her in this new role and to support the contributions she will make to REEEC’s academic programs and community.