Michael previously worked at Bard College as the Director of Bard Programs at Smolny. He has vast experience in furthering international education in the post-Soviet space.

- 2020 Teacher of the Year at Smolny
- 2008 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Scholarship at Kalmyk State University
- 2008 Phi Beta Kappa

- International Education
- Liberal Arts in non-traditional environments
- Self-esteem of university students
- Developmental theories

- Gudkov M., Freese M. "Tennessee Williams' Debut on the Soviet Stage: "Orpheus Descending" at the Mossovet Theatre and the Karl Marx Saratov Drama Theatre (1961)." Rossica. Literary Contacts & Connections, no. 2, 2022, pp.147-190. (in Russian)

- Freese M., Gudkov M. "The First Major Soviet Production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." The Tennessee Williams Annual Review, no. 21, 2022, pp.36-70.

- Belyaeva, Elena, and Michael Freese. “Institutional strategies to increase EMI quantity and quality in Russian higher education institutions: comparative analysis.” Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, vol. 9, no. 2, 2021, pp. 149-168.

- Freese, Michael and Ludmila Shramko. “Dialectical Notebook as a Means of ESL Teaching and 21st Century Skills.” Herzen’s Readings: Foreign Languages, 2020, pp. 646-649.

- Freese, Michael and Ludmila Shramko. “Peculiarities of ESL Teaching Remotely in Liberal Arts Environment.” Shatilovsky Readings, 2020, pp. 404-408.

- Shramko, Ludmila and Michael Freese. “The Principles of ESL Course Design in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Educational Environment.” In: Anikina Z. (ed.) Integrating Engineering Education and Humanities for Global Intercultural Perspectives. IEEHGIP 2020. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 131, pp. 449-456.

-Freese, Michael and Evgeniya Khramova. “Infinite Communication in the Educational Space of Modern Russia.” The Kazan Socially-Humanitarian Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 1, 2019, pp. 53-57. (in Russian)

-Ilyushin, L., A. Azbel and Michael Freese. “Preparation of Russian Schoolchildren for Liberal Arts Model of Education.” Kazan Pedagogical Journal, no. 1, 2019, pp. 129-136. (in Russian)

-2015 St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia. MA in Intercultural Education.
-2011 European University at St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia. MA in Russian and Eurasian Studies.
-2008 Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts. BA in Russian Studies. Summa Cum Laude.