Sunnie Rucker-Chang, MA in Slavic and East European Studies Class of 2001

Sunnie Rucker-Chang (right) with study abroad students in Croatia

Where do you work and what is your current position?

I am an Assistant Professor of Slavic and East European Studies and director of European Studies at the University of Cincinnati.

Tell us how you got there.

I was a lateral hire from Florida State University, where I also worked as an Assistant Professor from 2012-2014.

How has your CSEES MA helped you throughout your post-graduate life?

My CSEES MA has helped and continues to inform the way that I approach my scholarship and teaching in an interdisciplinary manner.

What was your focus or research interest when you studied at OSU?

I focused primarily on Slavic languages and literatures, but as an MA student I also took classes in history and linguistics.

If you are a traveler, what is one of your favorite trips you have taken?

It is difficult to specify one trip as my favorite, so I will highlight two: one of which was when I took a group of students abroad to Croatia, Serbia, and Hungary in 2018 and the other is when I first traveled with my children to Europe (Hungary, France, and Germany) in 2017.

What are your future plans?

I am currently in the process of going up for tenure, so I hope to be promoted to the rank of Associate Professor by the summer of 2021.

Bonus Facts

In March 2020, together with her husband Felix B. Chang, Sunnie published the book “Roma Rights and Civil Rights: A Transatlantic Comparison”.

Sunnie is also a PhD graduate of the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures (2010).