U.S. Shevchenko Scientific Society elects new slate of officers (07/09/00)

U.S. Shevchenko Scientific Society elects new slate of officers

by Dr. Orest Popovych

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The 16th general meeting of the Shevchenko Scientific Society of America (NTSh-A) convened on May 20, at the society's headquarters in New York City. Separate morning sessions were held by the sections of history and philosophy (HP) and of mathematics, physics and technology (MPT).

The HP section elected new members and then changed its organizational structure by splitting into two sections. One of them is devoted to history, philosophy, theology, pedagogy and psychology, and is headed by Prof. Taras Hunczak. The other covers the areas of law, sociology, political science, economics, geography and demography as well as the history and theory of journalism; it is headed by Dr. Martha B. Trofimenko.

At the same time the MPT section hosted talks by two guest speakers: Prof. Anna Nagurney of the University of Massachusetts, whose lecture titled "Networks for Fun and Profit" explored the network of economic activity ranging from transportation and communications through finance, and Dr. Oleh Kupchynsky of Lviv, the learned secretary of the NTSh in Ukraine (NTSh-U), who traced the history of publishing activity at NTSh.

The meeting proper was opened in the afternoon by the NTSh-A president, Prof. Leonid Rudnytzky, who asked the audience to honor the memory of the society's departed members and then introduced Dr. Kupchynsky to the general audience. He, in turn, greeted the gathering on behalf of the NTSh-U and delivered his second lecture, this time on the history of the society's contributions to Ukrainian scholarship.

Elections to the presidium for the meeting, with Prof. Hunczak and Volodymyr Baranetsky elected as chairmen. Elections were held also for the nominating, by-laws, resolution and auditing committees. The auditing committee examined the minutes of the 15th general meeting, which were then approved by the members. Greetings from other NTSh chapters were read.

Reports on their activities for the past three years were presented by each of the outgoing officers, beginning with President Rudnytzky. He was followed by the executive vice-president, Dr. Larissa M. L. Zaleska Onyshkevych, who had also served as the acting president of NTSh-A during Prof. Rudnytzky's appointment at the Ukrainian Free University in Munich. Then came the reports by the vice-president and learned secretary, Prof. Wolodymyr Stojko, and by the vice-president and chief financial officer Dr. Wolodymyr Rak. The latter presented the society's budget for the coming year.

Prof. Vasyl Markus, vice-president informed the audience of the activities of the HP section, which he chaired, and of progress on the Encyclopedia of the Ukrainian diaspora (EUD), of which he is the chief editor. The HP section now boasts of 70 full, 20 corresponding and six associate members.

Dr. Yaroslav Zalipsky informed the assembly about the activities of the Philadelphia chapter of the NTSh. A report of the committee on scholarships and grants was read by Prof. John Fizer. Mykola Haliv spoke about his diversified and challenging tasks as office manager.

Prof. Roman Andrushkiw, vice-president reported both as head of the computer/technology committee and of the MPT section. The latter comprises 18 full, 20 corresponding and 11 associate members; it has its own webpage at www.shevchenko.org; it regularly holds meetings and seminars. Dr. Sviatoslaw Trofimenko, vice-president offered his report on matters of publicity and scholarly conferences.

Dr. Martha Trofimenko spoke about the tasks handled by the by-laws committee, which she heads. Tania Keis reported as the chair of the library committee. In this area, the most important accomplishment of the last term was the computerization of the NTSh library, the introduction of an electronic catalogue and its transfer to the Internet.

Following a discussion of the reports, the outgoing governing board was granted a vote of confidence. The nominating committee, chaired by Prof. Fizer, presented the members with two slates of candidates for a new governing board - one headed by Prof. Stojko and the other by Dr. Onyshkevych. Both candidates then addressed the audience, presenting their respective platforms. The subsequent vote by secret ballot resulted in the election of Dr. Onyshkevych and her slate by a vote of 53 to 52.

The newly elected president of the NTSh-A said she considers the following to be the society's main objectives: to maintain its leading role in the field of Ukrainian studies, to provide a forum for members' projects in all fields, to attract more young scholars and those from among the recent immigrants, to continue its close cooperation with the NTSh-U, particularly in the area of publishing, and to strengthen its cooperation with other NTSh chapters as well as other scholarly institutions. Internally, the NTSh-A is planning to reinvigorate the work of its sections and committees, to increase the number of scholarly publications both in Ukrainian and in English, to continue to modernize its library and archives, to continue inviting visiting scholars from Ukraine.

In addition to the president, the new presidium consists of the following: Prof. Andrushkiw, first vice-president; Dr. Swiatoslaw Trofimenko, vice-president and learned secretary; Prof. Anna Procyk, vice-president; Prof. Vasyl Markus, vice-president and editor of the EUD; Dr. George Slusarczuk, acting treasurer; editor Olha Kuzmowycz, recording secretary. Furthermore, the governing board comprises the following committee chairs: financial - Dr. Slusarczuk (two members); law advisory - Dr. Andrij V. R. Szul; membership and graduate outreach - Prof. Daria Dykyj (two members); press - Prof. Orest Popovych (two members); chapters and development - Dr. Lubomyr Romankiw; publications - Marta Tarnawsky (nine members); by-laws - Dr. Trofimenko (two members); institutional liaison - Prof. Myroslava Znayenko (two members); library and archive - Ms. Keis (three members); scholarships and grants - Prof. Roman Voronka (five members); computers and technology - Prof. Andrushkiw (five members); board of auditors - Prof. Rudnytzky (two members); delegates to the World Council of NTSh - Prof. Andrushkiw and Dr. Trofimenko; alternates - Prof. Procyk and Dr. Trofimenko.

The following resolutions were adopted by a committee composed of Dr. Onyshkevych, Prof. Oleksa Bilaniuk, Dr. Serhiy Levkiv, Prof. Markus and Prof. Stojko:

1. We, the participants of the 16th general meeting of the NTSh-A, greet all Ukrainian scholarly and scientific institutions and all Ukrainian scholars and scientists, especially those in Ukraine. Considering the present economic conditions, we encourage all our members to collaborate in joint projects which could help scholars and scientists in Ukraine.

2. Our assembly greets all national NTSh chapters. We are genuinely happy about the growth and success of NTSh in Ukraine, especially in the area of publishing, and we offer our assurances of continued cooperation and support.

3. Our assembly supports a continued professional and collegial cooperation of the NTSh-A with scholarly institutions in the Ukrainian diaspora and in Ukraine, as well as with Ukrainian and other universities that feature Ukrainian studies.

4. Our assembly expresses its concern about the halt in the proliferation of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine and supports the full rights of Ukrainian as the state language.

5. Our assembly affirms that the NTSh-A will continue to honor its obligation to promote the work on the Encyclopedia of the Ukrainian Diaspora, so as to bring this important project to completion as soon as possible, and encourages our community to support it.

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