$500,000 raised for Ukrainian Catholic University (12/17/06)

$500,000 raised for Ukrainian Catholic University

by Andrew Nynka

DETROIT - During a thre-city fall fund-raising effort that culminated with a luncheon here on December 3, supporters of the Ukrainian Catholic University raised more than $500,000 for the university, while officials from the school stressed the accomplishments of its students and faculty.

Those accomplishments were shared with the public by the rector of the school, the Rev. Dr. Borys Gudziak, during stops in New York City and Chicago in November, and by Prof. Myroslaw Marynovych, the school's senior vice-rector, during his visit to the Ukrainian community of Warren, Mich., in December.

In New York, the third annual benefit for the university, held on November 5, gathered $303,040, said Mykola Haliv, whose committee, New York Friends of the Ukrainian Catholic University, organized the affair together with the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation.

The event in Chicago on November 12 raised $120,000 in pledges and donations for the Ukrainian Catholic University, while the event in Warren, Mich., brought in at least $80,000, said John Kurey, president of the Chicago-based UCEF.

Though donations continued to come in following the luncheons - in several cases, donations of $20,000 or more came in well after the events - the affairs were about more than just raising money, Mr. Kurey said. They were also an opportunity for people to learn about the university and to meet members of its faculty and staff.

In his trips to Chicago and New York City, the Rev. Gudziak stressed to hundreds of guests that the school intends to be a beacon for Ukraine's future leaders.

"We want to pledge before you here today that we will strive to be guiding moral lights in Ukraine," the Rev. Gudziak told a rapt crowd of 270 people at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Chicago on November 12.

"If this university is average, it will not be needed. It is our goal to produce unique individuals," said the Rev. Gudziak, the 46-year-old rector of the school.

In the Detroit area, Prof. Marynovych, a former political prisoner who spent what he described as a "life-changing" decade in the Soviet Gulag, told 250 guests about the school's mission and its work in Ukraine.

"Our goal is not just to exist," said Prof. Marynovych, whose stint under the Soviet yoke included an 18-day hunger strike because authorities would not give him a Bible. "It is to live for something greater, for a greater mission."

Prof. Marynovych was recently recognized for living that mission. He received the Order for Courage (first degree) from Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, and the equestrian cross of the Order for Service in the name of Polish President Lech Kaczynski from General Consul of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine Wieslaw Osuchowski for his work in the Ukrainian Helsinki Group.

The university also introduced the Detroit community to Roman Zaviyskyy, a 31-year-old graduate of the university who is now completing work on a doctorate in theology from England's Oxford University.

A graduate of the Lviv Theological Academy (now the Ukrainian Catholic University) in 1999, Mr. Zaviyskyy can speak or read a variety of languages, including Latin, Greek, Old Church Slavonic and Hebrew, to name a few. His academic advisor at Oxford University is Dr. Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, primate of the Church of England and leader of the Anglican communion.

"It is with great honor that I stand before you here today, that I can thank you for your generosity and for understanding the mission we have at the university," Mr. Zaviyskyy said in Warren.

UCU officials have stressed that, as the university grows, it will hire professors such as Mr. Zaviyskyy, who have left the school to finish doctoral degrees but are intent on returning to the school to teach.

Among all of the students from UCU who leave Ukraine for higher studies, 95 percent return to Ukraine, Mr. Zaviyskyy said. "Why do they return?" he asked rhetorically. They return "because they have a deep understanding of that mission which has been placed on us."

Many of the organizations and individuals who made donations to the university during the three events said several factors contributed to their decision to donate or pledge money to the school: faith in the university's mission, a student body composed of people such as Mr. Zaviyskyy and a deep trust that their donations are being used wisely.

"I just know that what they're doing is very important," said Anisa Sawyckyj-Mycak, who, together with her brother Dr. Jurij Savyckyj, donated $20,000 during the luncheon in New York at the Ukrainian National Home.

That donation established the Zynovij and Teodozia Sawyckyj Endowed Book Fund in memory of their parents, Zynovij and Teodozia Sawyckyj, Mrs. Sawyckyj-Mycak said.

"They're not just building education," Mrs. Sawyckyj-Mycak said of the university. "They're building an intelligent and decent Ukrainian person."

In New York City a pledge from an anonymous Ukrainian family helped push the day's outcome to record success. That pledge of $100,000 will fund the teaching, research and publication of the story of the resistance and resilience of Ukrainians in the former Soviet Union, Mr. Kurey said.

Self Reliance New York Federal Credit Union made two donations to the school, $50,000 on May 30, and then an additional $25,000 on November 3.

In Chicago, Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union made a donation of $15,000, the Heritage Foundation gave $25,000, and the UA Group LLC, a Fourth-Wave Ukrainian immigrant organization, gave $10,000. In addition, Bishop Innocent Lotocky, OSBM, announced a gift of $25,000 from the Cardinal Slipyj Church in Ukraine Trust Fund.

The fall fund-raising effort, now in its third year, has become a lifeline for the school. The money has paid a large portion of the university's operating budget, which is currently over $1.5 million, said Mr. Kurey, the UCEF president.

"They have really been a source of life for the university," Mr. Kurey said of the fund-raising events, adding that all of the foundation's expenses are covered by non-Ukrainians.

"That means that every single dollar that is given goes directly to the university," Mr. Kurey underscored.

The school - the only Catholic university in all of the former Soviet Union, according to the Rev. Gudziak - is committed to developing a reputation in Ukraine for being unparalleled in its pursuit of academic excellence.

"UCU will never be big, and I hope that's not a disappointment to you," the Rev. Gudziak said in Chicago. "But it is and will be unique. From Poland to Vladivostok, there is no other Catholic university in all of the former Soviet Union," the rector said.

However, the university does not get funding from the state, the Rev. Gudziak said, and it will continue to succeed only if it can sustain itself in the future.

"All of us have problems, and we can all talk about our various financial problems, or problems with our families, friends, co-workers. Or we can take hold of that rock that is faith and move forward to build something great," the Rev. Gudziak said at the conclusion of the event in New York City.

Further information about the UCU in English and Ukrainian is available on the university's website at www.ucu.edu.ua. Readers may also contact the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, 2247 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60622; phone, 773-235-8462; e-mail, [email protected]; website, www.ucef.org. The phone number of the UCEF in Canada is 416-239-2495.

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