AUSTIN, Texas – Dr. Volodymyr Dubovyk, an associate professor of international relations and director of the Center for International Studies at Odesa National University in Odesa, Ukraine, is spending the 2016-2017 academic year in Austin, Texas, on a Fulbright Scholarship.
St. Edward’s University and the University of Texas at Austin jointly invited the scholar. At St. Edwards Dr. Dubovyk is hosted by the Kozmetsky Center and its director, Dr. Sharyl Cross, while at UT Austin he is affiliated with the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and its director, Dr. Mary Neuberger.
Both institutions expect to raise their profile in the fields of post-Soviet/Eurasian studies by having him around. By choosing to come to Austin, Dr. Dubovyk says he wanted to reach outside of the usual circle of institutions on both coasts and get to work in America’s heartland. Austin is a major academic center in the region. It is a nice city with character, and Austinites are known as kind people.
Dr. Dubovyk’s goal is to make Ukraine better known in the United States. He feels that there has been progress over the years in terms of what Americans know about Ukraine, but there is still more work to be done – especially now, when Ukraine is at war with Russia and its proxies, and facing some challenges to its economic and political life. Exposure leads to assistance, which Ukraine needs badly these days. So, that is why, in addition to his own research project on Ukraine-U.S. relations, Dr. Dubovyk is also doing a lot of outreach, going places, meeting people and giving public talks.
For example, his talk on “Ukraine’s Political and Economic Challenges: National and International Prospects” at St. Edward’s University on September 12 was very well attended and well received. He said he was surprised by the number of people who attended and about the very positive reaction from people who had heard about what was going on in and around Ukraine and wanted to find out more.
At his October 3 lecture at the University of Texas at Austin, “An Insider’s Perspective on the Crisis in Ukraine,” Dr. Dubovyk said he wanted to show the main dynamics of the situation in and around Ukraine, and explain where the crisis over Ukraine is going. He feels that it is important for people in the U.S. to realize that the conflict in Donbas is very much ongoing and that Ukraine pays a heavy price for Russian aggression. At the same time he stressed that it is critical for people to know more about the fight to introduce reforms and eradicate corruption in Ukraine. American assistance and sometimes pressure are needed to help Ukraine to move along this road.
He will teach a senior seminar course in global studies and political science at St. Edward’s University this coming spring. “Ukraine: Contemporary Issues and Challenges.” The course will cover not only the challenges that Ukraine has faced in the past two and a half to three years, but also the evolution of Ukraine since 1991 – its foreign, security and defense policies; its economic life and struggles; and its political development. In general, the professor said he wants his students to get a more comprehensive picture of Ukraine.
He also has plans to attend conferences during his Fulbright year in the U.S. and says he receives many invitations to do so. He has just recently returned from a conference in Washington, one hosted by the Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia (PONARS Eurasia), of which he has been a member since 2002. At the moment it looks like he will have guest lectures in Kansas, Georgia, Indiana and other venues.
Dr. Dubovyk has already met some members of the Ukrainian community in Austin, and he plans to meet Ukrainians in other places in Texas, including Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. He has already done meetings and public talks with Ukrainian community activists in other parts of the U.S. and plans to do so as well while in Texas.