Ludmila Verbitskaya is rector of St. Petersburg State University, where she initiated the opening of two new faculties in the last few years: the Faculty of International Relations and the Medical Faculty. She is a member of the Russian Academy of Science, the International Higher Education Academy of Science, and the Administrative Board of the International Association of Universities, among other organizations. She serves as vice president of the UNESCO Committee on Women's Education and vice chairman of the Council of Rectors of Russia. Among other awards, Dr. Verbitskaya has received the Sign of Honorary Worker of Higher Education, and the Prize of the Royal Jubilee Fund for achievements in the sphere of higher education from Great Britain. She has received honorary doctorates from New York University and Bard College, New York, USA; Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul; and Keimyung University, Taegu, in the Republic of Korea. Dr. Verbitskaya is a graduate of St. Petersburg University, where she also earned a Ph.D. in philology. She was a participant at the second Universities Project plenary symposium in 1998.