Associate Professor Erik Nisbet and Associate Professor – Clinical Olga Kamenchuk have been appointed co-directors of the new Eurasian Security and Governance Program at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies. The program’s mission is to build and convey policy-informing knowledge and expertise on security and governance in the greater Eurasian region through research, professional education and networking. Mershon officially launched the program on Oct. 11 with a conference in Moscow called “Diplomatic Dialogue: Public opinion and public diplomacy in international relations.”

Kamenchuk has a 75 percent appointment as an associate clinical professor in the School of Communication and a 25 percent research appointment at Mershon. Nisbet, in addition to being an associate professor in the School of Communication, has courtesy appointments in the Department of Political Science and School of Environment and Natural Resources.