FACES AND PLACES: Two happy "hospodari" (07/28/02)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Two happy "hospodari"

"Leaders are people who do the right thing," writes executive recruiter George Benis. "Managers are people who do things right. Both roles are crucial, but they differ profoundly. I often observe people in top positions doing the wrong thing well."

Leonid Kuchma is a president who does the wrong thing well. He, his wife and their oligarchic compatriots control the mass media, much of Ukraine's natural resources, many businesses and the Verhovna Rada. Corruption is a way of life among federal officials.

Victor Yushchenko, leader of the most significant patriotic political bloc in opposition to Mr. Kuchma, is definitely a leader who does the right thing. Given his maladroit ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the Verkhovna Rada, however, some Ukrainians now wonder if he does the right thing well.

One Ukrainian leader does the wrong thing well; the other does the right thing wrong. Is Ukraine doomed? Hardly.

Lesia and I just returned from Ukraine. I had the good fortune to be awarded a Fulbright senior specialist grant to teach at the National University of Ostroh Academy, an experience that was both enlightening and heartening. Why? Because we met leaders who do the right thing right. These are people who are not indifferent to the outrages in Kyiv, but they haven't succumbed to the "woe is us" syndrome so common in Ukraine. They do the right thing right within the system. They get things done because they focus on what is doable rather than on what should but can't be done. They are proud "hospodari" of institutions that are turning things around in the Rivne Oblast of Ukraine. And that makes them happy.

First among Ukraine's outstanding happy hospodari is Dr. Ihor Pasichnyk, rector of the National University of Ostroh Academy. I first met Dr. Pasichnyk in 1994. At the time he outlined his plans to make his university the premier educational institution in Ukraine, on par with American universities. I returned to Ostroh in 1996, 1997 and again in 1998. Each time I observed steady progress and a determination to do even more.

In 1998 Dr. Pasichynk was seeking government funds to build 16 "cottages" - three-and four-bedroom houses with all the modern amenities (Western indoor plumbing, no less) - for visiting faculty and conference participants. He also pointed to adjoining empty lots that he promised would soon be transformed into an outdoor stadium and four tennis courts. I nodded. Right, I thought. In your dreams.

Well, guess what. It's happening. The university, which boasts 10 applicants for each student vacancy, now includes four departments - law, economics, humanities and foreign languages - as well as a university printing press (soon to publish a Ukrainian-language history of the Ukrainian National Association), an expanding library (a state-of-the-art addition is being built), a resource center, a cultural museum, a refurbished conference hall, a military lyceum for orphans, an ecumenical chapel, and, oh yes, a sports stadium and four tennis courts.

Dr. Pasichnyk has also successfully established a foundation (free of government control) for donations from the United States, Canada and elsewhere. As in the past, none of these contributions will be earmarked for capital improvements.

Ostroh faculty members are dedicated and proud of their institution. Two of them completed their M.S.Ed. degrees while teaching at Northern Illinois University and returned to Ostroh. One, Natalia Lominska, became a vice-rector; a second, Vasyl Zhukovsky, is completing his doctorate on American moral education. A third, Alexei Izmentinov, spent a year at NIU teaching and observing and returned to Ostroh to establish a resource center based on the American model.

It's clear that Rector Pasichnyk is not afraid of hiring, encouraging and promoting talented, first-rate people. As we have learned from Ukraine's Soviet debacle and our current Ukrainian American institutional crisis, second-rate managers usually surround themselves with third-rate people.

During our stay in Ukraine Dr. Pasichnyk introduced us to Prof. Vasyl Malykovsky, rector of the Myrohorscha Agricultural College. We visited his school during "The Day of the Horse," an annual event during which students compete in harness and thoroughbred horse races and various other equine competitions. We toured the newly modernized and impressive school. It was obvious to us that while the two talented hospodari are friendly competitors, each encourages the other. They admire each other and respect their mutual competence.

Past trips to Ukraine for Lesia and me were often depressing. It sometimes took us a month to recover. Not this time. Ukraine is far from where it can be, but thanks to our two hospodari and others like them, there is much to celebrate. Stay tuned.

Myron Kuropas' e-mail address is: [email protected].

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