As Department Administrator, Penny serves as the administrative, programmatic, faculty, human resources, and financial director of the Slavic Department. She is the undergraduate and graduate program administrator, the senior administrative contact for the Department, and senior advisor to the Chair and departmental leadership. She manages the daily operations of the Department and participates in long-range planning to sustain the Department’s teaching, research, and student advising missions. Previously, she spent 16 years as the Events Planner at Harvard's 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.A. in Gastronomy and certifications in wine and cheese studies from Boston University, and a B.A. in Drama and Russian Studies from Vassar College. She was also the first foreign student to study Costume Design at the Moscow Art Theatre School (Школа-студия MXAT). She enjoys swimming and hiking with her children, textile arts, gardening, recipe testing for publications, and cheering for the Boston Bruins.

 

Education:

M.A., Gastronomy, Boston University
B.A., Drama and Russian Studies, Vassar College
Certificate, Costume Design, Moscow Art Theatre School (Школа-студия MXAT)

Languages: 

Czech
Russian
French (basic)

Publications:

“Honey & Nectars.” The Archaeology of Food: An Encyclopedia, edited by Karen Bescherer Metheny and Mary C. Beaudry. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015, pp 255.

Reviewer: Food and Culture: A Reader, 3rd edition, edited by Carole Counihan and Penny Van Esterik. Routledge, 2012.