Dr. Jenkins, Director of the Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies since July 2001, joined the program in 1999 as Adminstrative Director for Curricula, with primary responsibilities for coordinating the MA and BA degree programs.  His scholarly interests are in the areas of social and political change, civil society and the nonprofit sector, and education.

He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987. Prior to joining the Center he was an independent consultant and researcher as well as a professor at Yale University. Dr. Jenkins has traveled widely through Eastern Europe and has lived in Budapest, which holds a special place in his heart. (Favorite vistas are below!)
 

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

In summer 2002, Dr. Jenkins will lead a Burch Field Research Seminar in Vienna, Austria.  The seminar "OSCE, International Organizations, and the Balkans" will

• examine the role and activities of OSCE in regional security issues,
• investigate the difference between the negotiating/diplomatic and field activities of OSCE,
• research organizational differences between OSCE headquarters and field offices,
• explore the relationships between OSCE and other international organizations in the Balkans.

The seminar will provide students with opportunities for interaction with key personnel at OSCE and other international organizations and will include a field trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina.  More details will be posted here soon.

Dr. Jenkins plans to pursue further research on the role of the international community in the conflicts in former Yugoslavia.  This research will begin with the international organizations active in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  For a preliminary list of these organizations, click here.
 

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

He has published on the growth of the Hungarian nonprofit sector, social and political movements in Eastern Europe, and labor markets and careers in Hungary. He is particularly interested in higher education reform and governance.

Among recent publications and presentations are

• "Labor Markets and Economic Transition in Post-Communist Europe." Forthcoming. In Sourcebook on Labor Markets: Evolving Structures and Processes, Ivar Berg and Arne Kalleberg, eds. Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
• "Understanding Nonprofit Research and Practice in a New Democracy: the Hungarian Case." Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Associations (ARNOVA) Arlington, Virginia, November 1999.
• "The Role of the Hungarian Nonprofit Sector in Postcommunist Social Policy." 1999. In Left Parties and Social Policy in Postcommunist Europe, Linda J. Cook, Mitchell A. Orenstein, and Marilyn Rueschemeyer, eds. Westview Press.
• "The Role of the Hungarian Nonprofit Sector in Postcommunist Society," presented at the East European Studies Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., February 1999.

CONSULTING

As a consultant he has worked with international and East European organizations in the areas of education reform and development of the nonprofit (nongovernmental) sector throughout the region. Major projects on which he has worked include

• Senior Consultant to Civic Education Project on the Regional Needs Assessment Project, a study of the reform of social science higher education in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine; 1995-1997.
• Member of the Higher Education Development Programs Board of the Hungarian Ministry of Education; 1997-1999.
• Evaluator for International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) program for Social Science Curriculum Development at selected universities in Hungary, Poland, and Romani; 1997-2000.
• Consultant to ACLS on its Constitutionalism Project in Central Europe, a program training secondary school teachers about teaching constitutionalism and civic education in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia; 1998-2000.

From 1996 to 2001, Dr. Jenkins regularly contributed an analysis of political and economic trends in Hungary to the Economist Intelligence Unit of London.
 
 

PERSONAL

In his leisure time, he enjoys travel, a variety of sports, and his family. To see pictures of the Jenkins family, click here.
 
 

CONTACT

Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
CB# 5125, 223 E. Franklin St.
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-5125

Phone: 919-962-0901
Fax: 919-962-2494
Email: rjenkins@email.unc.edu
 

Contact Dr. Jenkins via email.
 
 

Scenes of Budapest

Left: Gellert Hill viewed from the south. Right: Chain Bridge with Castle Hill behind.

Above: Parliament on the banks of the Danube.

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