The Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES) at the University of Michigan is pleased to announce the establishment of the Borka Tomljenović Southeast European Peace, Cooperation, and Conflict Fund in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). With this fund, CREES will strengthen and elevate conversations regarding Southeast Europe by examining the causes for formation and disintegration of Yugoslavia; extending this type of study to the other Southeast European countries that may be experiencing similar changes; and analyzing the geopolitical, social, economic, religious, and ethnic causes underlying peace, cooperation, and conflict in Yugoslavia and other Southeast European countries. The fund will support lectures, conferences, and film screenings that promote knowledge about Yugoslavia and other Southeast European countries, including what made possible the peaceful cohabitation of many diverse groups in the region.
The Borka Tomljenović Southeast European Peace, Cooperation, and Conflict Fund is the result of a generous gift from Katarina Tomljenović Borer. The donor is establishing this fund to honor the extraordinary life of her mother, Borka Tomljenović, a woman who witnessed first-hand the tumultuous 20th century. Born and raised in Bosnia, Borka lived in Croatia and Serbia before immigrating to the United States during the collapse of communism and the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Geneviève Zubrzycki, professor of sociology and director of the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia, notes, “It is an honor and privilege to be entrusted with a gift to honor the legacy of Ms. Tomljenović.”
CREES Director Benjamin Paloff, professor of Slavic languages and literatures and comparative literature, writes, “this gift will help us solidify the University of Michigan’s reputation as the premier institution for Yugoslavia and Southeast European studies. We are very grateful to Dr. Borer for her gift to honor the legacy of her exceptional mother.” CREES will officially launch the fund with the inaugural Annual Borka Tomljenović Lecture in Fall 2022, details of which will be posted on the CREES website at ii.umich.edu/crees.
Contact: Rachel Brichta / T: 734.764.0351 / E: crees@umich.edu
The University of Michigan Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES) is dedicated to advancing and disseminating interdisciplinary knowledge about the peoples, nations, and cultures of Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Eurasia, past and present. Through its own academic programs and its support of area-focused training and scholarship across U-M’s schools and colleges, CREES helps meet the nation’s ongoing need for experts with deep contextual knowledge who are proficient in the region’s languages. CREES is an affiliate of the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia and constituent unit of the International Institute. For more information, visit ii.umich.edu/crees.
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