Associate professor of Russian and translation, Tanya Bystrova-McIntyre, passed away on Feb. 2.

“We just lost a really, really great colleague, and students lost a great professor,” said Patrick Gallagher, interim department chair of the Modern and Classical Language Studies department.

Bystrova-McIntyre completed her undergraduate in linguistics and foreign language pedagogy at Tver State, before attending Kent State University to complete a master’s degree in Russian translation and teaching English as a second language.

Since 2003, Bystrova-McIntyre taught Russian and translation courses at the university both online and in-person.

Gallagher was notified of Bystrova-McIntyre’s passing after a relative contacted the previous department chair about her death.

Following this notification, he sent out an email to students and faculty informing them about Bystrova-McIntyre’s death and on-campus counseling services.

To help individuals cope, two counselors were present in McGilvrey Hall Feb. 4.

“I know there were tears in this department on Monday that I saw,” Gallagher said. “So, it’s really hard to predict how this might be affecting people.” 

He said professors have been chosen to continue teaching Bystrova-McIntyre’s Russian and translation courses.

Adriana Gasiewski is a campus editor. Contact her at [email protected].