Robin Smith receives Salve Regina’s first Ph.D. in international relations

Robin Smith recently received Salve Regina’s first Ph.D. in international relations. The newly titled Dr. Smith successfully defended her dissertation, “Acculturation Strategies of Russian Immigrants in the United States,” during the fall 2021 semester.

Smith’s qualitative case study interviewed 32 Russian immigrants representing time periods of emigration spanning 68 years from 1947-2015. The ages of the subjects ranged from 24-88 years, and they currently reside in diverse areas of the United States.  The sample also represented different religions, educational levels and occupations.

The research that Smith conducted demonstrated that the diverse group of interview subjects identified specific qualities that, in aggregate, contributed to their ability to successfully acculturate in the United States.

Smith is an instructor in the writing center at the U.S. Naval War College. She is a retired college administrator who specialized in teaching English to second language learners at the college level.