FACES AND PLACES: Kyiv-Mohyla: A light in the tunnel (03/31/96)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron Kuropas

Kyiv-Mohyla: A light in the tunnel

During the last five years, Ukrainians living in North America have become increasingly disillusioned with developments in Ukraine.

Corruption, an irradicable Soviet mind-set, parliamentary intransigence, naivete regarding the diaspora, and other shortcomings have contributed to a growing sense of pessimism about Ukraine's future.

Recently, however, there appear to be small lights in Ukraine's long, dark tunnel. One of those lights was lit by Viatcheslav Brioukhovetsky, president of the University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (UKMA). It was Mr. Brioukhovetsky, a | Rukh activist, who, together with a handful of dedicated educators, revived the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in 1991.

Founded in 1615, the original 17th century academy was unique. According to a lengthy article by Igor Greenwald in the March 15 issue of the highly regarded Chronicle of Higher Education, the original academy "demonstrated that it was possible to combine national consciousness with intellectual curiosity. Its founder, Petro Mohyla, an Orthodox bishop, shunned the staid educational model then dominant in Ukraine and patterned his academy on Europe's Jesuit institutions. This helped the academy to become a scholarly powerhouse that attracted students from all over Eastern Europe. Yet it maintained its distinctly Ukrainian heritage and its close ties to the Cossacks [sic], who gave the country its first taste of statehood."

A similar struggle is being waged today by Dr. Brioukhovetsky against the staid Soviet-style academicians who dominate Ukrainian higher education. In the Greenwald article Dr. Brioukhovetsky mentions that he no longer attends meetings of the Ukrainian rectors' council. "I went several times," he says. "The people are predominantly those who were appointed by the Communist Party. And they don't want to change anything. Why should they? They have a quiet life."

"So far, the institution has managed to balance its twin commitments to internationalism and Ukrainian nationalism," Mr. Greenwald writes. "It has two languages of instruction, Ukrainian and English, and applicants must have a command of both. Four years of English-language study and two of a second foreign language are required to graduate." Japanese and Chinese are offered, but Russian is not.

Another refreshing change at the university is the lack of nepotism. Entrance exams are taken and graded anonymously. Copies are made on the premises, in the dead of night, to be certain that versions aren't sold on the black market. "Today, Mohyla is widely recognized as one of the very few higher-education institutions in Ukraine where admission decisions are based on a student's ability rather than on cash," writes Mr. Greenwald.

The UKMA curriculum is patterned on the liberal arts tradition of the West. Electives have also been introduced, something that was foreign to the Soviet style of education, where the course of study was rigorously prescribed. The first graduate school of social work has recently opened, and soon there will be master's and doctor's degree programs in place at UKMA as well.

Another aspect of the UKMA program is its autonomy. The power at Mohyla is derived from a Senate that includes a board of trustees and faculty members who are responsible for electing the president and rector. An international advisory board includes such luminaries as Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski.

All of these "innovations" have not set well with the Ukrainian educational establishment. Yuri Bugai, a former deputy education minister, argues that UKMA lags behind Kyiv State University and wonders what "niche" the institution hopes to fill. The government has also resisted allowing UKMA to occupy a vacant piece of property adjoining the campus. Despite these problems, UKMA was licensed as a fully accredited institution in June of 1994.

Despite enormous difficulties, UKMA has come a long way. In 1991, there was no campus, no money - not even a telephone. Today, there are three faculties (social studies, humanities and natural sciences), 900 students, and even alumni who in 1995 were the first UKMA graduating class. Significantly, when last year's freshmen were asked about their career goals 11 percent stated they planned to seek Ukraine's presidency.

All of this was made possible by generous contributions from Ukrainians in the street - one woman offered strawberries and philanthropists such as George Soros. Recently, UKMA received a generous grant from the Eurasia Foundation to develop a graduate program in economics.

The UKMA library consists of 204,442 books and 15,512 periodicals. The university publishes the newspapers Mist and The Stranger's Gazette as well as the journals Kino-Teatr and Tsentr Europy. The KM Academia Publishing House at UKMA is responsible for 15 books and over 100 internal publications.

But Dr. Brioukhovetsky is not resting on his laurels. His master plan is to create a network of semi-private university-academies throughout Ukraine. The Ostrih Higher College was founded in 1994 and currently has 147 students enrolled. Last summer two professors and from Northern Illinois University had an opportunity to visit and lecture at Ostrih. Another UKMA affiliate will open soon in Mykolayiv.

Although UKMA is well on the way to becoming the premier institution of higher learning in Ukraine, the tunnel in which it finds itself is far from illuminated. Student costs are high. The university expends the equivalent of $4,950 to educate one student for one year, of which almost $3,000 is paid by the government of Ukraine. Freshmen are required to pay only $200 of the balance, with the university absorbing the remaining costs. In the future, however, sophomores and above will be asked to pay the fee equivalent of $2,000. This will enable UKMA to provide a world-class education.

To expand the UKMA student population, the International Charitable Fund for the Renaissance of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy has been established. Those who donate $2,000 or more will have an opportunity to specify the conditions under which their grant will be given. The fund will conduct competition for the grants based on these conditions. Since the fund is a non-profit organization (No. 23267509), all donations are tax-deducible. I urge all Ukrainians to donate whatever their means allow to this worthy cause. What happens at UKMA may well determine the future of Ukraine.

Donations should be sent to: The Mohyla Academic Society Inc., 77 Bayberry Road, Princeton, NJ 08540-7418.

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