Shevchenko Scientific Society celebrates 125th anniversary in New York

by Dr. Swiatoslaw Trofimenko

NEW YORK - This year the Shevchenko Scientific Society (NTSh) is celebrating its 125th anniversary worldwide, and NTSh-U.S.A. held its commemoration, comprising scholarly conferences and a banquet here on October 3 and 4.

On September 26, a roundtable session at the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies conference in Boca Raton, Fla., was specifically devoted to this jubilee. (The conference was held despite the menace of approaching Hurricane Georges, which mercifully chose a different path, avoiding the conference site.) The NTSh also participated in the symposium at Columbia University on October 2 (see The Ukrainian Weekly, September 20), in honor of the doyen of Slavic linguistics and philology, and NTSh member, Prof. George Y. Shevelov.

After these preludes, the well-attended main events of the celebratory program unfolded in New York over the weekend of October 3-4. The first session on Saturday, devoted to the history of NTSh, was chaired by Dr. Martha Bohachevsky-Chomiak (National Endowment for the Humanities).

Dr. Oleh Romaniv, president of NTSh-Ukraine, acquainted the audience with the origins and philosophy of the society's founding fathers, and the obstacles they had to overcome in an unfriendly environment in order to develop the NTSh into a de facto Ukrainian academy of sciences. He described the various stages of the progress and achievements of the society, and noted that at the present time NTSh is getting no financial support from the Ukrainian government, while in the past it had received subsidies from the Austrian government.

Dr. Wolodymyr Stojko (Manhattan College) outlined in detail how the NTSh took root and grew in the U.S., and its gradual development into a respected American scholarly organization.

Dr. Swiatoslaw Trofimenko (University of Delaware) gave a historical overview of the natural sciences within the NTSh, and pointed out that eminent natural scientists and mathematicians participated in the founding and running of the society from its very beginnings; Nobel-Prize laureates such as Max Planck, Albert Einstein, and other world-famous scientists were also NTSh members. He highlighted the accomplishments of world-class NTSh scientists such as the mathematician Volodymyr Levytskyi, the physicist Ivan Puluj, who discovered X-rays prior to Roentgen, and the chemist Ivan Horbachevskyi.

Dr. Dmytro Shtohryn (University of Illinois) acquainted the audience with the achievements of the NTSh in the realm of publications, as evidenced by the publication prior to 1939 of over 1,000 of its "Proceedings," books and other scholarly publications, and, after the hiatus caused by World War II, a successful resumption of publishing both in Ukraine (Zapysky NTSh, Khronika NTSh and other materials) and in the West. A particularly impressive achievement was the publication of several encyclopedias: the 13-volume Entsyklopedia Ukrainoznavstva, which appeared between 1949 and 1989; the two-volume "Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopedia", and the most definitive five-volume Encyclopedia of Ukraine that made detailed information on Ukraine available to anglophone readers. Currently in progress is the Encyclopedia of the Ukrainian Diaspora.

NTSh President Dr. Leonid Rudnytzky presented a review of the NTSh publications in English, apart from the encyclopedias, predominantly in the areas of literature, history and philosophy.

Ambassador Yurii Shcherbak (who was originally scheduled to speak on Sunday, but because of the arrival of a high-level delegation from Kyiv in Washington, agreed to move his appearance to Saturday) read a warm, congratulatory letter to the NTSh from President Leonid Kuchma, in which he credited the society for contributing to the spiritual rebirth of the Ukrainian nation and the creation of scholarly and cultural values. In his speech, replete with quotes from Taras Shevchenko, Ambassador Shcherbak praised the spirit of cooperation of the diaspora in general, and the NTSh in particular, with the Embassy of Ukraine.

The ambassador presented certificates of appreciation from the Embassy to the following individuals for their accomplishments in fostering Ukrainian-American relations: Dr. Roman Andrushkiv, Dr. Thomas Bird, Dr. Assya Humesky, Dr. Larissa Onyshkevych, Dr. Anna Procyk, Dr. Lubomyr Romankiv, Dr. Rudnytzky, Dr. Shevelov, Dr. Stojko, Marta Tarnawsky and, posthumously, Dr. Jaroslaw Padoch.

Dr. Rudnytzky extended best wishes from the NTSh to the ambassador and presented him with a certificate recognizing his election as a full member of NTSh.

In the first afternoon session, chaired by Dr. Taras Hunczak (Rutgers University), Dr. Onyshkevych (Princeton Research Forum) gave a well-documented history of the anti-Ukrainian language policy of the Soviet regime, listing all the important milestones of its curtailment in Ukraine. Even today, in independent Ukraine, the Ukrainian language is still being marginalized, and not enough is being done to reverse or alleviate the damage to the language that has been inflicted on it since the early 1930s. She distributed a one-sheet concise chronology of Ukrainian orthography at its various stages, noting the intrusion of political edicts into its structure, and the current half-hearted attempt at recovering the Ukrainian essence thereof.

Dr. John Fizer (Rutgers University) presented an interesting elaboration on the state of theoretical literature studies in the post-modernist context, while Dr. Procyk (Kingsboro College) gave examples of the treatment of Ukrainian history by contemporary Western scholars. Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Western historians cannot be weaned from the old, Russo-centric prism through which all events in that part of the world are viewed. Some even question if Ukraine is entitled to a separate history of its own, although after a lively discussion in the journal Foreign Affairs and elsewhere, the consensus was affirmative.

Dr. Vasyl Markus, editor of the Encyclopedia of the Ukrainian Diaspora, reviewed the current status of the Ukrainian diaspora and made projections for the 21st century. He noted the passing of the activist generation of immigrants, and the only occasional replacement of these dedicated volunteer workers by the younger generation. His prognosis for organized Ukrainian life in the West was not optimistic - unless enough new immigrants with similar dedication and values step into the breach.

The second afternoon session, chaired by Dr. Andrushkiw (New Jersey Institute of Technology), was dedicated to cutting-edge research and technology, with prognostications for the 21st century by a number of highly experienced senior scientists and researchers. These talks were illustrated with numerous excellent slides and charts. The lead speaker was Dr. Romankiv of IBM (Watson Center), an authority in his field, who spoke about the application of electrochemistry in the construction of computers. His studies, for which he received prestigious American awards, permitted further miniaturization of computer circuitry and power enhancement, and these inventions were licensed internationally by IBM.

Dr. Larissa Bilaniuk (University of Pennsylvania) in her well-illustrated talk acquainted the audience with various types of nuclear magnetic resonance technology in diagnostic medicine. These relatively recent, non-invasive techniques, are superior to X-rays and permit detection of the exact three-dimensional location of tumors, or other anomalies in the body, particularly in the brain. Such information permits surgeons to avoid damaging important adjacent issues during tumor removal.

Dr. Lev Chirovsky of AT&T discussed the various possibilities for the safe and effective use of nuclear energy to meet the ever-increasing worldwide demand for electricity. Despite the large theoretical advantage of the as yet unharnessed fusion technology, he said refined fission technology, with appropriate safeguards in place, still offers the best prospects for the future.

Vsevolod Onyshkevych (Ronin Corp.), who consults worldwide for major communications companies, offered a fantastic vista of the future run by super miniaturized computers, capable of doing just about anything, including running microfactories producing a plethora of widgets and gadgets. Such a scenario is apt to add to the ever-widening gap between hyper-sophisticated nations and the rest of the world.

Afterwards the audience was invited to view an exhibit of NTSh publications arranged by Svitlana Andrushkiv and Tanya Keis. It included some of the societies rarer old editions, as well as current ones, and also books published by NTSh members.

The first session Sunday afternoon, chaired by Dr. Myroslava Znayenko (Rutgers University), was in English. Dr. Edward Kasinec from the New York Public Library presented a joint paper with Liudmyla Shpyliova. He described the Ukrainian book and manuscript collection in that library, and voiced concern about further retention of these valuable collections, containing a number of unique and rare volumes, in view of today's unfavorable funding climate. He encouraged the use of these collections, since such activity proves their value and facilitates their retention in the library system. His colleague, Ms. Shpyliova, demonstrated slides of some truly beautiful ancient rare books from this Ukrainian collection.

Dr. Bird (Queens College) presented a talk fittingly titled "The Religious Tapestry of Ukraine: Diversity or Dissention," in which he summarized the current religious situation in Ukraine and of the Ukrainian Church in adjacent countries. He cited without comment, and perhaps with a dose of wry irony, examples of a not-too-Christian attitude and behavior toward Ukrainian churches, both Orthodox and Catholic, by the ecclesiastical establishments of their neighbors.

After this lecture, Dr. Rudnytzky and Dr. Aleksander Lushnytskyi presented the newly released "Reference Book of the Early Ukrainian Press in the United States" published with the assistance of the University of Minnesota data bank. This small volume is a compendium, listing and providing examples and brief histories of current and defunct Ukrainian newspapers in the U.S., from the earliest days of the Ukrainian immigration to the present, including some very rare journalistic items.

The final afternoon sessions represented a continuum of NTSh generations, as the speakers were young Ph.Ds, some of them sons and daughters of NTSh members, and all NTSh members themselves. It was very encouraging to see these energetic scientists and scholars speak to a wide array of advanced topics in excellent Ukrainian, confirming the capacity of the language to handle any modern topic.

In the first part, chaired by Dr. Humesky (University of Michigan), Dr. Daria Nebesh (University of Maryland) talked about ethnic identity and Hutsul music in the diaspora, while Lidia Stefanivska (Harvard University) analyzed the concept of poetic language in the writings of Bohdan Ihor Antonych.

In the second session, chaired by Dr. Andrushkiv, Dr. Oksana Lassowsky (St. John's College) talked about esthetics and anomalies in topology, Roman Samulak (New Jersey Institute of Technology) discussed the peculiarities of dynamic systems, while the presentation of Dr. Bohdan Nebesh (Department of Defense) dealt with the concept of an autonomous controlling agent and artificial intelligence.

Thereafter guests proceeded to the Ukrainian National Home on Second Avenue for the anniversary banquet, which concluded the festivities.

The banquet, at which the task of introducing speakers, artists and guests was shared by Dr. Albert Kipa (Muhlenberg College) and Dr. Trofimenko, commenced with an inspiring prayer by the Rev. Patrick Pashchak. It was followed by NTSh President Rudnytzky eulogizing the late Dr. Padoch who, as president of NTSh-U.S. for many years, contributed greatly to activation of the society, and under whose leadership it prospered.

This was followed by a musical interlude, the first part of which consisted of two viola/flute duets, specifically composed for this occasion by Dr. Yaropolk Lassowsky (Clarion University), and performed together with Dr. Daria Lassowsky Nebesh, in conjunction with the reading by Sofia Zielyk of poetry by Marta Tarnawsky. Xenia Piasetsky read selections from the poetry of the late Bohdan Krawciw. (Both poets are members of NTSh).

The second musical performance was that of Maksym Berezovsky's Sonata in C-major, composed in 1772, but discovered only 12 years ago, (edited and transcribed for viola and flute by Dr. Lassowsky).

In a warm and witty manner Dr. Humesky presented to the audience, the numerous scholarly accomplishments of Prof. Shevelov, who was present at the banquet, and who was enthusiastically applauded by the audience.

Dr. Trofimenko greeted the deputy permanent representative of Ukraine Mission to the United Nations, Yuri Bohayevsky, and his wife, the clergy and the numerous representatives of Ukrainian scholarly, financial, business, professional and civic organizations present at the banquet. At the banquet thunderous applause greeted the reading of President Leonid Kuchma's congratulations to the NTSh.

The tight schedule permitted only the reading of greetings from scholarly and academic institutions. Dr. Oleksa Bilaniuk, president of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in the U.S.A. (UVAN), presented congratulations, stressing the importance of scholarly cooperation between these two sisterly organizations. Dr. Danylo Husar-Struk, president of NTSh-Europe, and editor of the five-volume Encyclopedia of Ukraine (in English), expressed the wish that all branches of the NTSh, Ukraine, Europe, U.S., Canada and Australia, collaborate on a global basis to promote Ukrainian studies worldwide.

Dr. Myroslaw Labunka, prorector, Ukrainian Free University in Munich, conveyed congratulations from that institution. Other greetings that were read included from the Canadian NTSh, the Ukrainian Historical Association, the Lypynsky East European Research Institute, the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America, Inc. the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and the Shevchenko Institute of Literature in Kyiv. In addition, greetings were acknowledged from more than 50 other organizations and individuals.

In his keynote address Dr. Romaniv, traced the development of the society from a group of literary enthusiasts to a de facto academy of sciences with strong representation in all fields of scientific and scholarly endeavors - all of this despite numerous obstacles from the Polish side. During the pogrom of the society in Lviv by the Soviets, its activity shifted to the West, where it became focused in Sarcelles, France, and later in North America and Australia. It was only in 1989 that NTSh was re-established in Lviv.

The going was tough, as there were no government subsidies, and it was very difficult to reclaim the society's former property, which was expropriated by the Soviets. Yet, due to the dedication and perseverence of its members, the society expanded its structure over the past nine years, and today NTSh-Ukraine has more than 1,200 members, including 81 full members, working in six different scholarly sections. There are now 15 branches of NTSh throughout Ukraine, even in the heavily Russified regions. This development was made possible, to a considerable extent, by the help extended from its Western branches, particularly from the U.S. This help was not only financial, but it also involved joint programs, conferences and publications, exchanges of scholars and other forms of assistance. Despite the current, and hopefully transient, difficulties in Ukraine, Dr. Romaniv said he is optimistic about the further growth of the NTSh, and its contributions to Ukrainian culture and scholarship.

Afterwards, Mr. Bohayevsky of the Ukraine's U.N. Mission congratulated the NTSh and presented the certificates of merit to those who were absent on Saturday during the presentation by Ambassador Shcherbak.

The evening concluded with renditions of several songs, including "Otche Nash" by Dr. Ihor Sonevytsky (NTSh member), and Mozart's "Alleluia," performed by Lesia Hrabova.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, November 22, 1998, No. 47, Vol. LXVI

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