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American Councils President Honored with ACTR Lifetime Service Award

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In November, President Dr. Dan E. Davidson received a special lifetime service award from the American Council for Teachers of Russian (ACTR) at a reception during the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Convention in San Antonio, Texas. 

In November, President Dr. Dan E. Davidson received a special lifetime service award from the American Council for Teachers of Russian (ACTR) at a reception during the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Convention in San Antonio, Texas. The special event, held to mark the 40th anniversary of the ACTR, was a fitting moment to acknowledge President Davidson's unwavering dedication to the organization and to the field of Russian language study. As one of the original founders of ACTR, he has been actively engaged in its activities for its entire 40 years. Current ACTR President Betsy Sandstrom and former President Jane Shuffelton presented the award to Dr. Davidson.

The service award began as a way to honor in memoriam two longstanding members of ACTR, Jane Barley and Fred Johnston, whose untimely deaths came in the same year. Jane Barley taught Russian at Arlington High School in New York State and served as the Foreign Language Coordinator at the New York State Department of Education. Jane was committed to teaching and promoting the study of Russian as a member of the ACTR Board of Directors and Chair of the Olympiada of Spoken Russian. She also chaired the National Russian Essay Contest.

Fred Johnston was a devoted and beloved teacher of Russian at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts for many years. He served on the ACTR Board of Directors, led student trips to Russia in the 1970s, and was on the faculty of the Summer Institute of Russian Language and Culture at Bryn Mawr College.

George Morris was the first person to receive the award in 1995. George's many years of service to ACTR included acting as Treasurer, Membership Secretary, newsletter editor and more. The award has since been given yearly to an ACTR member who exemplifies service to the organization and to the profession of Russian language studies.

The Awards Committee includes Jane Shuffelton (Chair), Elena Farkas, and William Rivers.

To learn more about ACTR membership, visit: https://membership.actr.org/v/about/

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