On September 20th, Penny Skalnik joined Slavic as the new Department Administrator. Penny will oversee all Slavic Department administrative, financial, programmatic, faculty, and human resource operations. Previously, she spent 16 years as the Events Planner at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, where she was responsible for an extensive portfolio of dynamic academic and social events. She holds an M.L.A. in Gastronomy and certifications in wine and cheese studies from Boston University, and a B.A. in Costume Design and Russian Studies from Vassar College. She also studied Costume Design at the Moscow Art Theatre School (Школа-студия MXAT). In her free time, she enjoys textile arts, hiking, swimming, gardening, recipe testing for various publications, and cheering for the Bruins.