The women’s studies program has received a $300,000 grant from the State Department to facilitate a cultural exchange program with Ukraine’s Kharkiv National University.

The grant money will fund cultural exchanges with the Ukrainian university to share information and teaching methods related to gender issues programs, said Jill Bystydzienski, director of women’s studies. The major goal of the program is to raise awareness of gender studies in both the United States and Ukraine, she said.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity, especially when there hasn’t been much work done in this area before,” said David Gieseke, program director for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Both the women’s studies program at Iowa State and the gender studies programs at Kharkiv will benefit from the exchange. Introducing issues present in other cultures will give students a broader perspective of gender studies, Bystydzienski said.

“One of our major goals is to internationalize our program,” Bystydzienski said. “This helps us to do that very clearly.”

Faculty and graduate students from Ukraine, including Iryna Zherebkina, director of the Kharkiv Center for Gender Studies, are currently at the ISU campus as part of the exchange.

ISU faculty will participate in the exchange program during the summer by teaching at Kharkiv’s Summer Institute, Bystydzienski said.

The idea for the exchange evolved over time, Bystydzienski said. Last May, she had the opportunity to go to Kharkiv with a group of ISU faculty. While on the trip, she visited the Gender Studies Center and came in contact with the Ukrainian administrator, with whom she discussed the possibility of a collaboration. Bystydzienski said she realized the relevance of gaining firsthand experience of other cultures as a result of that visit.

“We’re collaborating across cultures,” she said.

The program is essential in the development of teaching new courses and units, Bystydzienski said. The faculty members collaborating at both universities hope to increase the availability of information pertaining to gender studies by putting it on the Internet. This will benefit not only Iowa State and Kharkiv but also institutions around the world, Bystydzienski said.

Sharon Bird, associate professor of sociology, also traveled to Ukraine last May. She is currently working with Sergei Zherebkin, staff member for the Kharkov Center for Gender Studies, to develop learning modules on men and masculinity. She said she is not sure if she will go back to Ukraine this summer.

Bird is also in the preliminary stages of a collaborative study of the effects of gender on small businesses in Ukraine.

“Women in the Ukraine are becoming more entrepreneurial because the economy is changing very quickly,” Bird said. “They’re looking for a way to support their families.”