NEWS AND VIEWS

Jacyk Educational Foundation marks decade of achievements

by Dr. Marko Stech

The level of education and scholarship in a given country can serve as a gauge of its wealth, power and influence in the contemporary world. A nation's welfare today is determined not so much by natural resources or military strength, but by the professional qualifications of its citizens and by the stability of its financial institutions. States such as Singapore or Hong-Kong, which established dynamic, wealthy and cultured societies on small territories with virtually no natural resources, are the best examples of this premise, especially if they are compared with large countries, rich in natural resources, but with high poverty levels.

The amount of accurate information available to the international community about a given nation's history and culture, and the effectiveness of its dissemination, determine global political attitudes toward that nation's people. Ukrainians, about whom world opinion was formed for centuries by political enemies, understand the practical effects of this premise only too well. Even today, more than five years after the independent Ukrainian state was proclaimed, the world still does not know the objective truth about Ukraine's history and present-day situation. In many spheres of political and cultural life, Ukraine is still considered to be part of Russia.

Few Ukrainian organizations have accepted the fact that the only effective way to achieve a long-lasting positive influence on international attitudes toward Ukraine and Ukrainians is to improve international scholarship about Ukraine and to support Ukrainian scholars and professionals.

Established in 1986, the Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation is unique among Ukrainian institutions in the world because its activities are conducted within the context of international academic circles. The foundation has been instrumental in the establishment of Ukrainian studies programs and scholarly centers at leading universities throughout North America and Europe. These institutions now develop and implement research in Ukrainian studies, educate the next generation of scholars and professors in the field, produce important publications about Ukraine, its history, culture and current international status, and organize scholarly conferences and educational programs about Ukraine for Western diplomats and businessmen that in turn influence world opinion about Ukraine and Ukrainians, as illustrated by the following examples.

· In 1991, following the establishment of the Petro Jacyk Lectureship in Ukrainian Studies at the University of London, England, the university organized an international conference entitled "Ukraine and European Security," that attracted considerable attention from the British press.

· Following the establishment of the Petro Jacyk Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in New York, the institute introduced new courses in Ukrainian language, literature, and history, and became one of the organizers of a series of conferences: "Peoples, Nations, Identities: The Russian-Ukrainian Encounter," which stimulated a lively discussion in the international press. After the last conference, an entire issue of the Harriman Review - subscribed to by scholarly libraries in the world and by most scholars and politicians specializing in Eastern Europe - was dedicated to Ukrainian-Russian relations.

· In 1996, when the foundation initiated its campaign to nominate President Leonid Kuchma for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work toward nuclear non-proliferation, the foundation's nomination letter was co-signed by seven prominent professors representing prestigious universities in North America, Europe and Japan. Subsequently, due to the foundation's connections with academic institutions around the world, many other scholars and politicians lent their support to President Kuchma's nomination.

The foundation's primary goal is to create and develop a global network of permanent academic programs in Ukrainian studies and Ukrainian scholarly centers, whose combined efforts will have a significant impact on international scholarship. Within a few years of its inception, the foundation contributed to the creation of such programs at the University of London and the University of North London (England), Columbia University (New York), the University of Alberta (Edmonton), Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.), and the University of Toronto.

In 1989, the foundation established the Peter Jacyk Center for Ukrainian Historical Research at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies in Edmonton, which is currently preparing a full English-language edition of Mykhailo Hrushevsky's "History of Ukraine-Rus'." Once the Hrushevsky volumes are published, the foundation will organize a joint effort by several prominent historians to continue where Hrushevsky left off and provide a fundamental analysis of Ukraine's history to date. The foundation is already sponsoring preparatory work for this monumental undertaking at the Institute for Historical Research at the University of Lviv.

The Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation also supports other projects that contribute to the development of Ukrainian scholarship and learning in various disciplines. Petro Jacyk was one of the main sponsors of "EÀÃ-¶- À"¡ß¡"'¡" (Ukrainian Encyclopedia). Furthermore, in order to provide resource materials for Ukrainian studies programs, the foundation helped establish resource centers and library collections, such as the Petro Jacyk Central and East European Resource Center and Petro Jacyk Microfilm Collection of Ukrainian Serials at the University of Toronto, Robarts Library. It also funded the Petro Jacyk Endowment for Ukrainian Periodicals, which allows Robarts Library to regularly acquire new books, journals and newspapers dealing with Ukraine.

The Foundation sponsors Ukrainian physicians participating in international cancer research, as well as the publication of psychiatric literature in Ukraine. Up until 1993, the foundation had a well-developed financial assistance program for students and scholars, which provided scholarships and research grants, covered the costs of TOEFL, GRE and GMAT tests in Ukraine, and collected and disseminated information about financial assistance available to Ukrainian students and researchers at Western universities. However, this assistance program has been discontinued due to the overwhelming demand for the foundation to focus its attention on other projects.

In addition to these successes, the foundation has gained an excellent reputation both within international academic circles and the Ukrainian community for its efficiency, integrity and far-reaching plan for the development of Ukrainian studies. To date, the foundation has relied on the profit from its capital fund investments to subsidize its activities. However, the foundation's growing popularity in international academic circles has provided it with more opportunities than ever to promote Ukrainian scholarship throughout the world. Thus, the foundation appeals to all those who would like to leave their permanent imprint in the history of Ukrainian culture and scholarship to join the foundation in a constructive and mutually beneficial cooperative effort.

The Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation has a proven record of long- and short-term success and has proven in practice that the foundation works effectively for the future. Programs created during the first 10 years of its activity continue to function effectively and have benefited from increased recognition and importance. Within the next 100 years they will achieve still greater international significance and on the heels of their success, more new programs will be created.

Now those who wish to contribute to the development of Ukrainian culture and scholarship and, in the process, to immortalize their name, are being provided the opportunity to create a permanent name fund within the Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation. Every year, the income from this fund, named in honor of the donor, will be directed on behalf of the donor toward a charitable program of the donor's choice. A donor can create university programs in his/her name or sponsor important scholarly publications. A donor can establish a prize for prominent scholars, scientists, writers or politicians, or a scholarship fund for Ukrainian students. A donor can join important international projects made possible due to the foundation's unique status and high international reputation. For example, a donor can sponsor a campaign to support the nomination of Ukrainian writers for the Nobel Prize or finance the work of high-level inter-governmental institutions. The possibilities for cultural and scholarly contribution are endless.

Those who wish to contribute to Ukrainian scholarship, culture and community life, yet are unable to sponsor a name fund, have the opportunity to fulfill their goal by donating to the foundation's general fund. Each and every dollar donated will be allocated to the foundation's main charitable programs; all donations are tax-deductible and the foundation gives public recognition to all donors.

For additional information please contact:

Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation, 1260 Eglinton Ave. E., Mississauga, Ontario, L4W lK8, Canada; telephone, (905) 238-0467; fax, (905) 625-8445.

Dr. Marko Stech is the managing director of the Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 15, 1997, No. 24, Vol. LXV

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