As a part of the Bulgarian Studies Initiative, sponsored by the Republic of Bulgaria and jointly organized by REEEC and the Slavic Department, Iliyana Dimitrova, has joined the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois as an Adjunct Senior Lecturer for the academic year 2025-2026. She is a senior lecturer in Contemporary Bulgarian Language at the University of Veliko Tarnovo St. Cyril and St. Methodius in Bulgaria. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria held a nationwide competition and she was selected to be the inaugural instructor in Bulgarian language and culture. She is currently teaching an Introduction to Bulgarian language, and Bulgarian for Heritage Speakers courses and in Spring 2026 she will teach a course on Bulgarian culture.