Shevchenko Scientific Society elects new president, Orest Popovych (06/04/06)

Shevchenko Scientific Society elects new president, Orest Popovych

NEW YORK - The Shevchenko Scientific Society - USA (NTSh) held its 18th triennial general meeting at its New York headquarters on May 20. Dr. Orest Popovych was elected as the society's new president.

Before the meeting separate morning sessions were held by three scholarly sections: philology (Prof. Assya Humesky, director); history and philosophy combined with the social sciences (Prof. Martha Trofimenko, director); and mathematics, physics and technology (Dr. Roman Andrushkiw, director). The last session featured a film, sponsored by NTSh, about the Ukrainian mathematician Mykhailo Kravchuk, who was persecuted and eventually murdered by the Soviet regime in the 1930s.

The meeting was opened by NTSh President Dr. Larissa Onyshkevych, who requested a moment of silence to honor the society's members who had passed away in the last three years. Greetings were read from the president of the NTSh World Council, Dr. Leonid Rudnytzky; the president of NTSh in Ukraine, Dr. Oleh Kupchynsky; and the Consul of Ukraine in New York, Dr. Andriy Olefirov.

Just before the opening, Consul Olefirov had presented Dr. Onyshkevych with the Shevchenko Award for 2006 in recognition of her many years of efforts in Ukrainian scholarly and community organizations, as well as her efforts for the return of Ukrainian cultural treasures to Ukraine.

The presidium for the meeting comprised Dr. Andrushkiw as chairman, Dr. Procyk as his deputy and Dr. Maria Rewakowicz as the recording secretary.

Dr. Onyshkevych, who has headed NTSh since 2000, delivered her report for the period since 2003. In her view, NTSh did fulfill its goals as a scholarly institution beyond Ukraine's borders. She covered the various areas in which NTSh and its members have been active, especially in support of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, participation in scholarly conferences in the United States and Europe, and in spreading information about Ukraine at various scholarly and cultural forums. An important area in NTSh's strategy is the support of Ukrainian scholars and their research projects by means of grants, as well as the sponsorship of their publications.

Next came the reports of the departing board of directors, the directors of the society's sections and the committee chairs, as well as reports on the NTSh library and archives. Reporting were: First Vice-President Andrushkiw, who also spoke as the director of the mathematics-physics-technology section; Vice-President Popovych; Committee Chairs Marta Tarnawsky, Dr. Roman Voronka and Dr. Volodymyr Vasylaki; Svitlana Andrushkiw, library; and archives section directors Prof. Trofimenko (social sciences) and Prof. Humesky (philology). The reports of those who could not be present were also read.

After discussion of reports, the meeting accepted the report of the Auditing Committee.

The new slate of the candidates for office, presented by the chair of the Nominating Committee, Dr. Voronka, was headed by Dr. Popovych, who was elected president by a vote of 70 for with two abstentions.

In his acceptance speech Dr. Popovych thanked society members for their trust and outlined the strategy for further activities of the society under his stewardship in the following areas: expansion of membership; programs for the Ukrainian community; scholarships and grants in support of Ukrainian studies; sponsorship of Ukrainian scholarly publications; bibliographic and archival projects; and collaboration with NTSh organizations in other countries, as well as with official and scholarly institutions in Ukraine.

The newly elected board of directors of NTSh consists of: Dr. Popovych, president; Dr. Andrushkiw, first vice-president; Dr. Procyk, vice-president and learned secretary; Dr. Daria Dykyj, vice-president and CFO; Dr. Swiatoslaw Trofimenko, vice-president; Olha Kuzmowycz and Dr. Serhiy Levkov, recording secretaries.

Committee chairs are: publications - Prof. Vasyl Makhno; scholarships and grants - Dr. Olexa Bilaniuk; press - Prof. Vasyl Lopukh; legal advisory - Dr. Andrij Szul; by-laws - Prof. Martha Trofimenko; institutional liaison - Dr. Myroslava Znayenko; computing - Dr. Vasylaki; auditing - Dr. Onyshkevych.

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