IN MEMORIAM: Petro Jacyk, 1919-2001, builder of Ukrainian studies (02/17/02)

IN MEMORIAM

Petro Jacyk, 1919-2001, builder of Ukrainian studies

by Dr. Marko R. Stech

The unexpected passing of the renowned Ukrainian philanthropist and Canadian businessman Petro Jacyk on November 1, 2001, marked the end of a certain era for Ukrainians worldwide. On that day, the Ukrainians of the world lost the most generous patron of Ukrainian learning, whose consistent, dedicated efforts can be credited for a steady and lasting growth throughout the world in the understanding of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. No one from his generation will be able to replace Mr. Jacyk in this role.

In a narrower sense, the Ukrainian community of North America lost one of its most notable personalities - an energetic and authoritative individual who worked constructively for the good of the community and did not fear to stand in defense of the honor of Ukrainians, even in trying and controversial situations. On a more personal level, the family and friends have lost a person of great generosity, honesty and good will. Nothing can replace this loss.

I personally had the unique opportunity to work with Mr. Jacyk for a number of years as managing director of his educational foundation. As it turned out, these were the last years of his life. But, in the realm of philanthropic work, these proved to be the years of his most fruitful activity. In this period, Mr. Jacyk and the Jacyk Foundation managed not only to complete the establishment of a host of scholarly programs at prominent North American universities, but also to see through new, extraordinarily ambitious undertakings, such as the Ukrainian Language Competition for primary school students in Ukraine.

Working alongside Mr. Jacyk, I had the opportunity to observe the practical implementation of his personal and, what proved to be, very effective strategy for philanthropic activity to further Ukrainian studies. His approach was not based on any theories he had studied; rather, he had an intuitive sense of what could work, and, fittingly, the guiding principles of his strategy were based on his professional experience. Mr. Jacyk was primarily a "builder," and in his philanthropic activities - just as in his business work in the construction industry - he strived to erect a solid "edifice" of Ukrainian studies in the West.

From his professional experience Mr. Jacyk clearly understood that no structure could exist without a stable, steadfast foundation. This also held true for the "intangible edifice" of Ukrainian studies. Therefore, it was not by chance that one of the first projects he supported was the multi-volume Entsyklopedia Ukrainoznavstva (Encyclo-pedia of Ukrainian Studies) initiated and headed by Prof. Volodymyr Kubijovyc.

Mr. Jacyk was deeply impressed by Dr. Kubijovyc's straightforward argumentation: on what basis could Ukrainians regard themselves as a modern nation worthy of being reckoned with if they did not have their own encyclopedia? An encyclopedia is certainly not just a physical compilation of data about a people's history and traditions. It is also a scholarly definition of a nation, a synthesis and summation of its various facets. A practical measure of its value is the fact that it provides a base for all manner of subsequent scholarly research. Believing in the importance of this undertaking, Mr. Jacyk became the single most generous patron of the Entsyklopediia and donated close to $300,000 of his own money towards it, while also playing an active role in its fund-raising committee.

The primary objective of the Entsyklopedia Ukranoznavstva, which was published in France, was to consolidate the national consciousness of Ukrainians themselves, to define their identity. As such, this publication had far-reaching consequences, which Dr. Kubijovyc and Mr. Jacyk had counted up in advance of its appearance. The next stage of this work was realized in Canada with the publication of the English-language Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Taking Dr. Kubijovyc's Ukrainian-language work as its point of departure, the encyclopedia sought to provide accurate and truthful information about Ukraine and Ukrainians to the entire world.

Today the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies is working on an Internet version of the English-language Encyclopedia, which will be readily available throughout the world to anyone with Internet access and will represent a vital testimony to Ukraine's heritage and present state. Mr. Jacyk took part in the first phase of the large undertaking and, as such, he played a key role in laying the groundwork essential for its subsequent success.

The second aspect of constructing the firm "foundations" for Ukrainian studies in the West - for Mr. Jacyk, the publication of an essential history of Ukraine in English - was very near and dear to his heart. In this case, several discussions Mr. Jacyk had with the eminent historian Omeljan Pritsak strongly influenced his decision. Responding to a common complaint voiced by Ukrainians that the world was generally antagonistic toward the Ukrainian people, Dr. Pritsak noted that the world simply did not know Ukraine because, as far as it was concerned, Ukraine was a country without its own history.

Mr. Jacyk clearly understood that as long as the world studied the history of the Ukrainian people in books written by representatives of those nations that regarded Ukraine as a "younger brother" or as its own rebellious colony (or their Western students), it could be expected that the world would neither accept the national aspirations of Ukrainians, nor objectively judge their efforts to realize them.

As a result of extensive consultation with historians and other specialists, Mykhailo Hrushevsky's monumental "History of Ukraine-Rus' " was chosen as the work which would present the history of Ukraine to the world in an authoritative manner. The Peter Jacyk Center for Ukrainian Historical Research (based at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies) was established in large measure to deal with the translation and publication of this multi-volume work as a result of a $1 million donation by Mr. Jacyk to the University of Alberta which was then matched two-to-one by a grant from the government of Alberta.

Mr. Jacyk founded this now widely known scholarly center with the same clear-minded imagination he had shown earlier and with the expectation that it would not limit itself just to its initial tasks and parameters, but grow over time and expand its field of activity. How much his expectations have proven justified can be demonstrated by simple facts: the Jacyk Center, which in its infancy brought on board two people to work on a single volume of the Hrushevsky translation, has grown in the course of 10 years into the most important center of Ukrainian historical research in the West. Several scholars and editors work full-time on the center's projects and numerous other specialists work with the center on a contractual basis. The published volumes of Hrushevsky's history won international acclaim for their high standards of translation and editing.

In addition to the history, the center publishes two series of scholarly monographs - one in the West and the other in Ukraine, deals with archival research, supports the work of young historians and grants scholarships. It is one of the principal scholarly institutions whose work can be credited with integrating Ukraine and Ukrainians in Western eyes into the fabric of the world community.

It was on these "foundations" - an essential history which would represent the Ukrainian people before the world and a national encyclopedia which defined the heritage of Ukraine - that Mr. Jacyk foresaw the further building of the "edifice" of Ukrainian studies in the West.

He also understood that for these "foundations" to withstand the test of time, they would have to be laid on stable ground. Hence, he created all his programs at prestigious universities: Harvard, Alberta, Columbia, Toronto. The integrity of these institutions guarantees the existence of the Ukrainian studies programs created by Mr. Jacyk for many long years. In addition, Mr. Jacyk sought to ensure and enrich their source base through scholarly library collections, an aspect of the scholarly "foundation" without which quality academic research and student instruction are impossible. Accordingly, in addition to his research and teaching programs, Mr. Jacyk funded a permanent position in Ukrainian bibliography at Harvard University, as well as library and microfilm collections and the Central and East European Resource Center at the University of Toronto Robarts Library.

Finally, having donated funds for the laying of these "foundations" of Ukrainian studies in the West, Mr. Jacyk could now begin - in the last years of his life - building what might be called the "walls and roof" of this "edifice." Specifically, he now sought to create programs which, leaning on the previously built "foundations," seek concretely to form world opinion about Ukraine and Ukrainians. The discussion here concerns the programs for the study of contemporary Ukraine that he established: the Peter Jacyk Ukrainian Studies Program at Columbia University in New York, the Peter Jacyk Distinguished Fellowship program at Harvard, and finally, the remainder of the program (which is particularly close to my heart because I worked on its creation under the supervision of Mr. Jacyk during the last three years of his life), the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine at the University of Toronto.

Mr. Jacyk passed away four days before the official ceremonial opening of the newest program he established. Nevertheless, the Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine is already active in its pursuits. Like all the Ukrainian studies programs established by Mr. Jacyk, this program will disseminate objective knowledge about Ukraine throughout the world, serving at the same time as a living testimony to the work and generosity of its founder.

The contribution of Mr. Jacyk to the development of Ukrainian studies cannot be conveyed by simply taking a count of the numerous scholarly programs he founded. His contribution can be properly estimated only by taking into account the far reach of his vision and the coherence of his efforts. Mr. Jacyk was, in the broadest sense of the word, the "builder" of Ukrainian studies in the West. The beginnings of his philanthropic work in Ukraine (particularly, the well-known Ukrainian Language Competition) during the final stages of his life underline how much of a constructive influence he might still have had in his first (and most dearly loved) homeland. His memory will live on in his achievements.

Dr. Marko R. Stech is former managing director, Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation. Currently he is managing director, CIUS Press; project manager, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine Project; and project manager, Hrushevsky Translation Project.

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