The Mongolia Society, Inc.

Founded in 1961, The Mongolia Society is a private, non-profit, non-political organization that promotes the study of Mongolia, its history, language, and culture. Its aims are exclusively scholarly, educational, and charitable.

Photo of the Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash.

MonSoc News & Events



MonSoc Celebrates the Mongolian Lunar New Year, 2024

March 1, 2024

Ambassador (Ret.) Michael S. Klecheski and Ms. Ts. Legden

The Society celebrated Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian Lunar New Year, on Saturday, February 2, 2024, at the Ferguson International Center on the Indiana University-Bloomington campus.

The event drew dozens of people, including the Society’s President, Ambassador (Ret.) Michael Klecheski, and many from the Bloomington Mongolian American community. It included music and dance, food, and a powerful sense of community, not only locally but also with relatives and friends in Mongolia, too.

The following images of the event were taken by Zolboo Dashmyagmar. You can see more of her images on the Society’s 2024 Tsagaan Sar event page.

The Society wishes to thank all the groups and institutions that supported this celebration, including the Department of Central Eurasian Studies and Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center (at Indiana University, Bloomington), the Mongolian Student Association, and the Bloomington Mongolian community. 


The latest edition of the Mongol Survey

  • Issue no. 46 (Fall-Winter 2023) (PDF)


Winners of the 2022-2023 Best of the Next Generation of American Mongolists Competition

June 7, 2023

­­The Mongolia Society and the Embassy of Mongolia are pleased to announce the winners of the 2022-2023 Best of the Next Generation of American Mongolists Competition.

Funded by the Embassy of Mongolia to the United States and conducted by The Mongolia Society, this competition recognizes the top three individuals whose combination of thoroughness and quality of research, knowledge and use of primary sources in original languages, and scholarly promise and commitment to advancing the field of Mongolian Studies best exemplifies the Next Generation of American Mongolists.  The competition was open to master’s- and doctoral-level students and new PhDs. Materials submitted were judged in a “blind” review by a panel of judges with proven academic credentials in Mongolian studies. 

Overall, the quality of the seven (7) essays submitted was outstanding and the Society hopes to publish many of them in the Journal of The Mongolia Society.

For the full story and award winners, please see our News and Events page.  


Report From The Society’s 61st Annual Meeting & Conference, October 2022

November 7, 2022

The 61st Annual Meeting & Conference of The Mongolia Society was held jointly with the Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) on the Indiana University, Bloomington campus, October 20-23, 2022. The meeting and conference were well-attending, both in-person and virtually. The conference, held at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, featured the participation of 27 panelists on 7 different panels. The conference schedule is available here: Webpage or PDF.

The Society was honored to have Ambassador U. Batbayar, Ambassador of Mongolia to the United States, attend the event, during which he met with administration officials at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Indiana University-Bloomington (IU). Together they discussed educational cooperation in the framework of the March 15, 2022, "Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation" between Indiana University and the National University of Mongolia. The Ambassador delivered the Opening Remarks at the General Meeting & Conference and visited with members. 

Ambassador Batbayar meets with Indiana University Provost

Left to Right: Dr. Jamsheed Choksy, Interim Dean of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies; Amb. (ret) Pamela Slutz, President of The Mongolia Society; Dr. Hannah Buxbaum, Vice President for International Affairs; Dr. Rahul Shrivastav, Executive Vice President and Provost; Ambassador U. Batbayar; Mr. Ganbold Ankhbayar, Counselor for Educational and Cultural Affairs at the Embassy of Mongolia.

Additional photographs and more information about the conference is available on our News and Events page.


The Mongolia Society remembers Dr. György Kara

Photo by Y. Boldbaatar. Used with permission.

October 19, 2022

It is with great sadness that the Society receives the news of the passing of Dr. György Kara, or Khar Dorj, as he was known to his many students, friends, and colleagues. A long-time member of the Society, Dr. Kara was a beloved instructor, mentor, and colleague. Our hearts and thoughts are with his family at this time.

The Mongolia Society will be remembering Dr. Kara and honoring his enormous contributions to Mongolian Studies in a forthcoming issue of the journal Mongolian Studies.

For the full story, please see our News and Events page.


IN BRIEF: MORE NEWS, EVENTS, & UPDATES

UPDATE ON DR. ALICIA CAMPI: Our dear colleague, Alicia Campi, is now residing in a long-term nursing facility at Manor Care Potomac where she continues to receive post-stroke care and therapy. She welcomes visitors (daily from 11am to 6pm) and greeting cards (but, please, not gifts). We wish her a happy holiday and look forward to her full recovery. 

  • Dr. Alicia Campi, Room 125, First Floor Wing, Manor Care Potomac, 10714 Potomac Tennis Lane, Potomac, MD 20854