UNN Faculty of Social Sciences celebrates its 25th anniversary
On 24 December, Lobachevsky University held a gala evening devoted to the 25th anniversary of its Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS). The event brought together representatives of the Faculty's teaching staff, the university's administration, alumni from different years, students and distinguished guests, including those who have played an important role in the life of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Elena Zagaynova, Rector of Lobachevsky University, addressed FSS staff with her congratulations: "The faculty's hallmark is the study of human relations. I would call FSS the faculty of kindness, because you carry the light of communication, give people the opportunity to communicate with each other in the atmosphere of psychological comfort, to remain human in the modern conditions of life. The Faculty of Social Sciences is a very important, well-respected and unusual faculty, its popularity is growing every year. Compared with other UNN faculties, you have the largest number of new programmes, new areas of study and the youngest team. I wish you to continue developing as fast as you are developing now."
Olga Petrova, Minister of Education, Science and Youth Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod region, congratulated everyone present on the anniversary and had this to say: "So much has been created in 25 years, so many students have graduated from the faculty over a quarter of a century... And yet for FSS it is only the beginning of its development. It is important to note that the faculty has succeeded and each year brings more and more projects aimed at creating something new, at opening new spheres for application of psychology and sociology, which are becoming crucial to everything".
The 25th anniversary of the Faculty of Social Sciences is not just a date, but a history that people are making. Roman Golubin, FSS Dean, noted that today the Faculty of Social Sciences is a powerful unit in one of the country’s leading universities: "FSS is a perfect fusion of experience, great minds and youth. We have established ourselves as a first-rate, intellectually advanced team that deals with a whole range of scientific issues and implements a huge number of training programmes. We have room to grow, and with such colleagues we can plan the most ambitious projects".
Over the 25 years of its existence, the FSS has expanded, adding new areas of study, projects and partners, including international ones. At present, the faculty has about 800 students taught and supervised by leading Nizhny Novgorod scholars, including 20 Doctors of Sciences and more than 30 Candidates of Sciences.
But all this would not have been possible without those who stood at the faculty’s origins, including Professor Zara Saralieva of the FSS Department of General Sociology and Social Work. According to her, the origins of the Faculty of Social Sciences date back to 1992, when the university began training in some new areas of studies in social sciences and humanities, and the Division of Social Sciences was established within the structure of the Faculty of History. "When a new era in the history of our country began, life itself demanded that the humanities scholars direct their efforts to develop our society in a different way, and then our department started looking for a new field of application. With the support from colleagues in Moscow and St Petersburg, we opened our first intakes of students in sociology and social work in 1992. At that time we were still part of another faculty, and in 1996 we set out as a separate faculty," recalled Zara Saralieva.
Professor Saralieva was awarded the Maxim Kovalevsky Gold Medal of the Russian Society of Sociologists (RSS). Bronze medals of the RSS were awarded to FSS Dean Roman Golubin and Head of the Department of General Sociology and Social Work Sergey Sudin for their for many years of successful work. The awards were presented by Valery Mansurov, Doctor of Sciences (Philosophy), President of the Russian Society of Sociologists.
