CCPCR, The Committee on College and Pre-College Russian was created in 1984 as the result of the Report of the National Committee for Russian Language Study (1983), which itself followed repo rt of the Carter administration's Presidential Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies (1979). Noting (in 1983) that "enrollments in the Russian language have dropped more precipitously than those in any other major modern language," the Committee for Russian Language Study, composed of representatives of AAASS, AATSEEL, and ACTR, made 12 recommendations in the Report, among which was an initiative to strengthen pre-college Russian programs and establish a survey of pre-college Russian teaching.

Beginning in 1984, John Schillinger, then at Oklahoma State University, and Johannes Van Straalen, at Choate Rosemary Hall School in Wallingford, Connecticut, initiated the first pre-college survey, established a committee of members representing pre-college and college teachers of Russian, and initiated the development of a data base of useful information for pre-college (and college level) teachers of Russian. John Schillinger, now Emeritus Professor of Russian from American University in Washington, D.C., chaired this inter-organizational committee, which represents AATSEEL, ASEEES, and ACTR.

Since 1984, first from Choate Rosemary Hall, and now from American University, CCPCR has provided the only annual nationwide census of pre-college Russian, The pre-college census each fall provides contact information for schools and teachers, enrollments of students at each level, and text materials in use. In March, 1997, through the support of Prof. George Gutsche, past national secretary-treasurer of AATSEEL and then head of the University of Arizona's Department of Russian and Slavic Languages, the census was first placed on a website. Subsequently, the site was transferred to the American University mainframe.

In 2002, CCPCR added an annual fall census of college/university-level Russian enrollments at the 1st and 2nd year levels, as well as a census of 1st and 2nd year enrollments in other Slavic and East European languages. Additionally, CCPCR initiated an annual update of stateside summer language programs in Russian and other Slavic and East European languages.

If you are interested in supporting Russian language study at the pre-college or college level or wish to connect with CCPCR to add information about your program, please e-mail CCPCR at ccpcr@american.edu.

John Schillinger, Emeritus Prof. of Russian
American University, Washington, DC
Chair, CCPCR
Committee on College and Pre-College Russian
e-mail: ccpcr@american.edu
website:
http://fs2.american.edu/jschill/www