University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Department of Slavic Languages and Literature | University of Illinois Archives
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The formation of such a department had been in consideration since 1934 when the University was requested to establish a chair by the Czechoslovak National Council of America.1 Courses in Russian began to be offered in 1942 on the undergraduate level and in 1952 on the graduate level. 2 Formerly part of the French Department, a separate Russian Department was established in 1959.3 In the same year the program leading to a masters degree was approved and in 1961, one leading to a Ph.D. was approved.4 In 1963 the University of Illinois Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the Department to Slavic Languages and Literature.5
1. Board of Trustees Transactions, 37th Report, February 24, 1934, p. 454; May 22, 1934, p. 574-75.
2. Catalogue & Register, 1942-43, p. 332; Undergraduate Study Catalog, 1952-53, p. 340.
3. Board of Trustees Transactions, 50th Report, May 16, 1959, p. 406.
4. Ibid., 50th Report, October 18, 1959, p. 1073; 51st Report, November 26, 1961, p. 1186-87.
5. Ibid., 52nd Report, December 18, 1963, p. 936.