FOCUUS II gala to benefit Columbia's Ukrainian studies (03/21/04)

FOCUUS II gala to benefit Columbia's Ukrainian studies

NEW YORK - The Friends of Columbia University Ukrainian Studies (FOCUUS), a committee initiated by the Ukrainian American Professionals and Businesspersons Assocation of New York and New Jersey (UAPBA) and composed of leaders and activists from numerous Ukrainian American organizations, is planning a second gala event to support the expansion of Columbia's Ukrainian Studies Program.

FOCUUS I, which took place in 1994, initially yielded over $50,000 in contributions to the Ukrainian Studies Program at Columbia and subsequently stimulated wide community support, including an outstanding $500,000 gift from Canadian philanthropist Petro Jacyk.

Bohdan Vitvitsky, former president of the UAPBA and chairman of the organizing committee, stated: "we are at an important juncture for the support of the expansion of Ukrainian studies at Columbia University. Not only are we dealing with a very prestigious university situated in a city with a unique relationship to Ukrainian institutions and Ukrainian studies, but we also have an administration that is exceedingly hospitable to Ukrainian studies, as well as permanent faculty who are enthusiastic about the initiative. Our primary goals with FOCUUS II are, first, to help the program and fund-raising initiative to gain momentum, and, secondly, to raise awareness of the Ukrainian presence on Columbia's campus."

In the decade since FOCUUS I, Ukrainian studies have grown significantly at Columbia University. With the funds raised since FOCUUS I, the Ukrainian Studies Program has been able to augment its course offerings, has held numerous conferences and lectures in collaboration with many Ukrainian American organizations, and has hosted over twenty-five visiting scholars specializing in Ukraine at Columbia in the last 10 years.

The 2003-2004 academic year brought the Ukrainian Studies Program into the spotlight. In September 2003, Columbia's Harriman Institute and the School of International and Public Affairs awarded its "Distinguished Statesman Award" to Anatolii Zlenko, former minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine. An international conference on the man-made Great Famine in Ukraine of 1932-1933 (Holodomor) took place in November 2003 and attracted a diverse group of participants. By December 2003, the Ukrainian Studies Fund's campaign to establish an endowed fund for the teaching of Ukrainian history reached the $700,000 mark.

In January of this year the university appointed the first visiting professor supported by the newly established fund for Ukrainian history (Dr. Frank Sysyn from the University of Alberta), and the Slavic department offered instruction in Ukrainian for the first time on three different competency levels. The upcoming international conference on "Polish-Ukrainian Relations: Past, Present and Future," which will take place on March 26-27, will bring a distinguished group of scholars from Poland, Ukraine and North America together at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs.

The FOCUUS II gala banquet will be held in the Low Library rotunda, the architectural gem in the center of Columbia University's campus, on the evening of Saturday, May 8, at 6 p.m. Carlos Pascual, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and current coordinator for U.S. assistance to Europe and Eurasia at the Department of State in Washington, will be the keynote speaker.

Prof. Mark von Hagen, department of history, Columbia University and current president of the International Association of Ukrainian Studies and Dr. Vitvitsky will also speak.

Musical entertainment will be provided by Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS band. Dr. Washburne, who is half Ukrainian, is a professor in the department of music at Columbia University and a renowned jazz trombonist. He will premiere a jazz rendition of Ukrainian melodies with his quintet.

For information about tickets to the FOCUUS II May 8 gala banquet or the Ukrainian Studies Program at Columbia, please contact Maria Sonevytsky at (212) 854-4697, e-mail ms2147@columbia.edu, or write to: Ukrainian Studies - Columbia University, 12th Floor IAB, 420 W. 118th St., New York, NY 10027.

| Home Page |