RUSSIAN DELEGATION VISITS TUESDAY

Southeast Missouri State University will host a delegation of the Ministry of Education of the new independent Republic of Belarus, formerly part of the Soviet Union, for 10 days, beginning Tuesday.

The four-person delegation is traveling to Cape Girardeau at the invitation of Southeast President Kala Stroup to learn about the American system of higher education, said Martin Jones, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

The Belarussian delegation consists of Alexander Kozulin, chief deputy minister for higher education and science; Roman Korseko, rector of the Byelorussian Economic University; Regina Strazheva, professor of foreign languages at the national Institute for Foreign Languages; and Vladimir Varavko, manager of the ministry's computer center.

Strazheva is the wife of the acting minister of education, Vasiliy Strazhev, who invited Southeast to send a delegation to Minsk last year. He is unable to make this trip because of new job responsibilities.

"This is the first visit to a Western democracy for these Belarussians," said Jones. "They will be involved in a series of discussions with Southeast faculty, staff and students to gain new ideas and broader understanding of our approach to education and free enterprise.

"In addition, they will meet regional business leaders and tour several local businesses. They will spend a morning with Cape Girardeau School Superintendent Neyland Clark and his staff and visit Central High School. They will also be given tours of the region that will highlight Southeast Missouri's agriculture, technology, social life and culture."

A press conference has been scheduled for Wednesday, during which the Belarussians will have an opportunity to meet and visit with the media. They will also be asked to hold a public forum on Aug. 25 to discuss current developments in their new nation.

Jones said this visit reciprocates the hospitality extended by the Belarussian Ministry of Education when the Southeast delegation visited in July 1991. Representing the university on that trip, in addition to Jones, were Jean Benton, assistant professor of elementary and special education, and William Kimme, former member of the Board of Regents.

"Our visit to Minsk occurred just shortly before the abortive coup to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev, which led to the dissolution of the Soviet empire." In August 1991, the Belarussian parliament declared its independence from Moscow.

"When we were in Minsk last summer," he said, "it was apparent that the Belarussians earnestly wanted independence from Soviet central control. Professor Kozulin, a mathematician, has been a key thinker in the reformation of the country's educational system," said Jones.

"In 1990, he helped write a new statement of the Belarussian educational philosophy, which reflects the democratization of the school system and efforts to establish new institutions of education `to provide free access to any education' and `broad opportunities for developing individual abilities and talents.'"