NOTES ON PEOPLE (09/03/06)

NOTES ON PEOPLE

New assistant prof at U. of Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Leda Kobziar has been named assistant professor for the University of Florida School of Forest Resources and Conservation. A portion of her time will also be devoted to the School of Natural Resources and Environment. The appointment began July 17.

Prof. Kobziar will develop research programs in fire science and forest conservation. Her research interests include predicting fire behavior and severity, and mitigating damage through fuel reduction and prescribed burning. She'll teach forest ecology management and introduction to forest resources conservation and will work with both undergraduate and graduate students.

The School of Forest Resources and Conservation is part of UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Before coming to UF, Ms. Kobziar spent six years at the University of California, Berkeley, where she held several teaching and research positions while completing her Ph.D. In 1997 and 1998 she was a forestry specialist for the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department.

Prof. Kobziar holds a Ph.D. in ecosystem science and a master's degree in forest science, both from the University of California, Berkeley. Her bachelor's degree is from The Evergreen State College.

Prof. Kobziar, the daughter of Tamara and Mak Kobziar, hails from Ithaca, N.Y. Her grandparents Olga and Ivan Kobziar owned the Xenia Motel and helped build St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in the Hunter, N.Y., area. Her maternal grandparents, Jaroslawa and Dr. Mykola Krizanowsky, are from Kerhonkson, N.Y.

She was a member of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, attending camps at the Novyi Sokil campground outside of Buffalo, N.Y., as well as Plast ski camps in Quebec and upstate New York. In addition, she attended dance camps at Soyuzivka for 10 years and is a member of the Ukrainian National Association.

Prof. Kobziar told The Weekly that she would like to establish contacts with forest conservationists in Ukraine and hopes to pursue collaborative research interests there in the future.

Awarded Fulbright for Ukraine project

SUDBURY, Mass. - Stephan Nestor Vitvitsky of Sudbury, Mass., was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2006-2007 year. The Tufts University graduate will be studying and conducting economic research at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy in the capital of Ukraine.

Mr. Vitvitsky majored in economics and political science at Tufts and graduated cum laude on May 21. His extra-curricular activities at Tufts University included writing about international affairs in Tuft University's daily newspaper, serving as a reading tutor for neighborhood children, and working as a photo editor and critic for the weekly magazine. He was also president of the Russian-Slavic House, and he played soccer and club hockey.

Beginning in the summer of 2004, Mr. Vitvitsky became involved first-hand in political affairs. He worked as a legislative intern at Sen. John Kerry's office in Washington during the summer of 2004, he then worked as a research intern at a think-tank in Madrid in the spring of 2005, and in his final semester at Tufts he interned at the Cambridge, Mass., office of Rep. Michael Capuano.

In 2002 he was a participant of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's first annual Youth Leadership Program in Washington.

Prior to attending Tufts University, Mr. Vitvitsky graduated with high honors from the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham. Mass.

Mr. Vitvitsky is a member of Ukrainian National Association Branch 27 and Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, as well as the Chornomortsi fraternity of young adult Plast members.

Couple celebrates 60th anniversary

CHICAGO - Mykola and Olha Lushniak of Chicago celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on July 28 at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Chicago. The Very Rev. Bohdan Nalysnyk presided over the anniversary liturgy that was attended by family and friends from throughout the United States and Canada.

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