On May 15th, 2019, faculty members and students from the Department of German, Russian, Asian, and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures gathered at Patterson's for lunch to celebrate the retirement of Dr. Irina Goncharenko-Rose.  Irina has worked at Miami University as an instructor of Russian since the early 1990s.  During the luncheon Irina mentioned how warm and collegial her relations with the GRAMELAC faculty, not just her colleagues in Russian, have been over the years. Nick Rackers, a graduating senior, mentioned that he purchased his first Russian language book at the age of thirteen and went on to describe the influential role Dr. Goncharenko-Rose has played in his college success and future career choices.  The department presented Irina with a small gift as a token of appreciation for her years of service and continued dedication to teaching the language. Those in attendance were: Irina Goncharenko-Rose, Kazue Harada, John M. Jeep, Ben Sutcliffe, Gretchen Ziolkowski, Haosheng Yang, Ruth Sanders (Emerita), Zara Torlone (Classics), Juanita L. Schrodt (Dept. Admin), Nick Rackers (student), and Chaya Fershtman (student).  

Dr. Irina Goncharenko-Rose receives a gift from the Department of GRAMELAC.