Buffalo State Representatives Celebrate Moscow University's Anniversary

MOSCOW SOUNDS GREAT...but Moscow in January?

"I expect it to be cold," allowed Emile Netzhammer, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. "We're from Buffalo, after all," said Elizabeth Peña, chair of the Art Conservation Department. "How much worse could Moscow be?"

Netzhammer and Peña are part of a SUNY delegation that will travel to Moscow in late January. They will join Russian scholars in celebrating the 250th anniversary of Moscow State University. Other SUNY dignitaries in the party include John Ryder and Robert Gosende. Ryder is the director of SUNY System Administration's Office of International Programs and the director of the SUNY Center on Russia and the United States; Gosende is the associate vice chancellor for international programs.

The trip is part of a SUNY System Administration initiative to develop international partnerships between SUNY campuses and universities in eastern Europe and the former U.S.S.R.

First Stop: Old Town, Warsaw

Before visiting Moscow, Netzhammer and Peña will visit the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland. The homes, shops, and churches of Warsaw were mostly destroyed in World War II. The "old town," a section of Warsaw that includes the Royal Castle, was rebuilt to replicate the destroyed buildings.

The Royal Castle, built in the 1300s, became a royal residence when the king of Poland moved the country's capital from Kraków to Warsaw in the early 1600s. The building was remodeled through subsequent centuries, only to be entirely destroyed by the Nazis during World War II. During the 1970s, the Royal Castle was reconstructed.

"Very little is original," said Peña, "but they worked from fragments, rubble left from the war, to recreate what had been destroyed."

Today, the castle is a museum holding a diverse collection of artifacts. Eleven conservators care for the collection, and their specialties include painting, paper, textiles, furniture, metal, stone, and gilding.

"I am very excited about this trip," said Netzhammer, "because it presents some great possibilities for our students and faculty." These possibilities include faculty exchange and internships for Buffalo State art conservation students. Peña and the administrators of the Royal Castle plan to craft a memorandum of understanding regarding the collaboration. "We are also interested in any distance-learning programs that might develop," said Peña, "and they have expressed an interest in the technology and science we use."

Eastward to Moscow

Netzhammer and Peña plan to leave Warsaw and travel eastward to Moscow to join other SUNY representatives at the Moscow University celebration on January 25, 2005--the feast day of Saint Tatyana, patron saint of students. On that day in 1755, Russian empress Elizabeth Petrovna established the university.

SUNY's Center on Russia and the United States maintains an office at Moscow University through which Netzhammer and Peña plan to explore opportunities for collaboration between Buffalo State and Russian colleges. "We also hope to meet with people from museums in Moscow," said Peña. "We are using this trip to look into potential partnerships."

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