JENKINTOWN, Pa. – On Thursday, April 6, at 2 p.m. in the Manor College auditorium, Manor College will host a dialogue on the topic “Ukraine – Education as the Battlefront of Democracy.”
This dialogue will examine the most crucial areas of educational reform needed in Ukraine in order to protect and preserve free and democratic ideals. Currently, the chief looming crises in Ukrainian education are conflicting ideals held by post-Communist era sympathizers who have failed to embrace Western philosophies, and pay-to-GPA corruption, whereby those entrusted with educating Ukraine’s students are accepting cash for grades.
Is there hope for reform and increased international credibility of the Ukrainian educational system? Can the Ukrainian community and concerned Americans help Ukraine to resolve these crises? The dialogue at Manor will seek to answer these questions.
The dialogue and the preceding luncheon are open to the general public, the Ukrainian community throughout the region and students. The fee for the luncheon is $25 and registration for the lunch (12:30 p.m.) and free program (2 p.m.) are both online at www.manor.edu/ukraine.
This event looks to encourage community engagement and participation in a way that fosters new and additional support for Ukraine from an educational perspective. Dr. Serhiy Kvit, former minister of education and science of Ukraine and current professor of the Kyiv-Mohyla School of Journalism; Alex Kuzma, executive director of the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation; and Dr. Andriy V. Zagorodnyuk, vice-rector of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, will lead the conversation at Manor College discussing this important topic.
“In the same way that our ‘Ukraine: Humanitarian Efforts’ program’s call to action yielded 70 satchels of clothing and baby care products for the peoples of Ukraine,” said President Jonathan Peri of Manor College, “our call to action for this program asks what we can do as a community to support stronger education and the fostering of democratic ideals for the students of Ukraine’s institutions of post-secondary education. If we don’t ask this question as the only existing institution of higher education founded by Ukrainian Sisters in America, who will?”
Located in suburban Philadelphia, Manor College is a private college offering more than 38 associate’s degree programs in allied health, science and math; business, technology and legal studies; and liberal arts to traditional and adult students. Manor College provides its students with excellent academic and transformative opportunities that instill the importance of lifelong learning. More information is available at www.manor.edu.