Saint John's University
 

Hayes, who holds a doctorate in Russian and European history from the University of Chicago, has published widely in both the academic and popular press-ranging from Slavic Review to Interview Magazine. "Dr. Hayes is a scholar of creativity and imagination, with a finely wrought sensitivity to the multi-layered capacity of humans to solve vexing global issues or exacerbate them," says Saint John's President Dietrich Reinhart, O.S.B. Hayes' career has bridged the worlds of academia and the news media. A regular contributor to the Star Tribune, he has filed more than 50 news reports, features and commentaries on Russia and Eastern Europe for the newspaper. Since 1985, he has worked with Twin Cities Public Television as a featured commentator and field correspondent for the popular news and public affairs programs "Almanac" and "NewsNight Minnesota." On national television, he has appeared on PBS' "The NewsHour" and "Religion and Ethics News Weekly." He also is a regular commentator for Minnesota Public Radio's "Midday," and his commentaries have appeared on NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered," Public Radio International's "Marketplace" and Voice of America's "Dateline Bosnia."

As the Cold War played out its dramatic final chapter, both national and local news media turned to Hayes to make sense of the complex and often obscure forces that brought an end to the communist era. From Maureen Dowd in The New York Times to Ted Koppel on ABC's "Nightline," journalists sought his help in tracking the end of the Soviet Union. He received an Emmy in 1991 for his work on TPT's special report "Television and Democracy in Russia." "Dr. Hayes, in my view, is one of a handful modern American academics whose command of his subject is matched only by his ability to make it come alive for ordinary people," says Bill Hanley, executive vice president of Twin Cities Public Television.

"During the late 1980s, many Minnesotans witnessed the demise of Soviet communism through Dr. Hayes' eyes. His enthusiasm and imagination have led to hundreds of viewer comments over the years." In the 1990s, Hayes has widened his interests to include such global issues as the AIDS pandemic and genocide. His media projects have taken him on assignment to China, South Africa, Rwanda and the Balkans. In 1994-95, as a Fulbright Fellow in Journalism, he was based in Zagreb, Croatia, from where he filed reports on the war in the ex-Yugoslavia.

His latest writings include a reflection on the tenth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in the Utne Magazine and a retrospective of Gorbachev's legacy published in The Moscow Times.  Over the past year, he has published commentaries for several newspapers on Russian President Putin's tactics in Chechnya, his interference interference in the Fall 2004 presidential election in Ukraine and the charade of his re-election in March to a second Term.