CIUS Newsletter 2012 Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies 4­30 Pembina Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2H8 Professor from Kharkiv University Selected as New Director of CIUS Dr. Volodymyr Kravchenko, profes­ otechestvennoi istorii [D. I. Bahalii sor of history and chair of the Depart­ and His Contribution to the Study of ment of Ukrainian Studies at the National History], Kharkiv, 1990); a Vasyl Karazin National University of historiographic study of the Istoriia Kharkiv, has been chosen as the fourth Rusiv [History of the Rusʹ People] (“Po- director of the Canadian Institute of ema vol'noho narodu”: “Istoriia Rusiv” Ukrainian Studies. He succeeds Dr. Ze­ ta її mistse v ukraїns'kii istoriohrafiї non Kohut, who served as acting direc­ [“A Story of a Free People”: The His- tor of CIUS in 1993–94 and, beginning tory of the Rusʹ People and its Place in in 1994, as director. Dr. Kravchenko Ukrainian Historiography], Kharkiv, was appointed after an international 1996); a survey of Ukrainian histori­ search that began in the fall of 2011. ography from the mid­eighteenth to Interviews with the three finalists were the mid­nineteenth century (Narysy held in the spring of 2012, and the z ukraїns'koї istoriohrafiї epokhy selection took place shortly thereafter. natsional'noho Vidrodzhennia (druha In September 2012 Dr. Kravchenko polovyna XVIII‒seredyna XIX st. [Es­ arrived in Edmonton to assume his says on Ukrainian Historio graphy of position as CIUS director. the Period of National Revival: From Dr. Kravchenko is no stranger to Volodymyr Kravchenko, new CIUS director the Late Eighteenth to the Mid­Nine­ CIUS. He has been working with the Ramsay Tompkins Visiting Professor in teenth Century], Kharkiv, 1996); a Institute since 2000 as director of the 2011–12. He is thus well known to the study of the border city of Kharkiv Kowalsky Eastern Ukrainian Institute, academic and broader community in (Khar'kov/Kharkiv: stolytsia Pohranych- established under the auspices of the Edmonton. In Ukraine, he has devel­ chia [Kharkov/Kharkiv: A Border Chair of Ukrainian Studies at Kharkiv oped a reputation as an accomplished Capital], Vilnius, 2011), and, most University and funded through the scholar, a strong administrator, and recently, Ukraïna, imperiia, Rosiia: Kowalsky Program for the Study of a successful teacher who has worked vybrani statti z modernoï istoriï ta Eastern Ukraine at CIUS. The Institute toward the revival of Ukrainian studies istoriohrafiï [Ukraine, Empire, Russia: serves as the Kowalsky Program’s base in eastern Ukraine. Selected Articles on Modern History for developing eastern Ukrainian stud­ Dr. Kravchenko obtained his Mas­ and Historiography], Kyiv, 2011). ies and sponsoring an active program ter’s (Kharkiv, 1980), Candidate’s (Kyiv, Dr. Kravchenko has an impressive of research and publications that en­ 1986), and Doctor of Sciences (Kyiv, teaching record. He has long been af­ compasses local history, ethnography, 1997) degrees in history. His fields of filiated with the Vasyl Karazin National and literature. In 2003 the Kowalsky specialization are Ukrainian histori­ University, where he began teach­ Eastern Ukrainian Institute established ography; the history of universities in ing in 1986. He has also held visiting a Zaporizhia branch that has been very Ukraine; regional and border studies; professorships at several universities active in compiling and publishing and the history of Kharkiv. He is the in Ukraine and abroad, including the numerous oral­history sources. author of some 150 scholarly publica­ Kyiv­Mohyla Academy National Uni­ Dr. Kravchenko has also visited the tions, including four monographs: a versity (2003); the European University University of Alberta and CIUS on sev­ study of the historian Dmytro Bahalii in St. Petersburg (2005); the Harvard (D. I. Bagalei i ego vklad v izuchenie eral occasions, most recently as Stuart continued on page 3 CIUS Newsletter 2012 1 From the Director Passing the CIUS Bulava In Cossack Ukraine, the head man with the response of a scholar com­ this issue of the Newsletter). or hetman was selected by a General pletely unknown to me—Volodymyr In passing the CIUS bulava to Military Council that included rep­ Kravchenko. After additional corre­ Volodymyr, I am confident that CIUS resentatives of all ranks. Once the spondence and a face­to­face meeting has a bright future. I congratulate council agreed on a candidate, he was in Ukraine, I became convinced that Volodymyr on his many achievements, given the ceremonial mace or bulava Professor Kravchenko was the key including his appointment as director that symbolized his authority. to our program’s success in eastern of CIUS. For my part, I look forward to In a way, there was a similar selec­ Ukraine. continuing to direct the program that tion and passing of the bulava at CIUS I initiated, the Kowalsky Program for this year. The selection process for the the Study of Eastern Ukraine, and to new CIUS director was quite inclusive performing any other duties that may and exhaustive. The Selection Com­ be assigned to me by the new direc­ mittee included not only administra­ tor. I will, of course, continue to be a tors and professors from the Faculty of professor in the Department of History Arts but also representatives of CIUS, and Classics. the CIUS Advisory Council, and the Since this is my last column as di­ Ukrainian community. This committee rector of CIUS, I would like to reiterate narrowed down the list of applicants to that it has been my privilege to serve as a final three. director for more than eighteen years. Each candidate was invited to During that time, I have endeavoured campus for a public academic lecture, to promote the development of Ukrai­ a public vision presentation and, of nian studies in Canada, Ukraine, and course, a formal interview. During the world. I strove to make CIUS a vi­ their visits, the candidates met with able and vibrant institution. The many CIUS staff and interested faculty mem­ achievements of the last eighteen years bers. Each candidate was featured in would not have been possible without Ukrainian News, Edmonton’s Ukrai­ Zenon Kohut, outgoing CIUS director the work of outstanding colleagues and nian newspaper. The university com­ My decision proved amply justified. staff. I also thank my family, friends, munity and the public at large were In 2000, Volodymyr was able to estab­ donors, and Ukrainian community also given the opportunity to write lish the Kowalsky Eastern Institute of members who have given me such evaluations of the candidates that were Ukrainian Studies at the V. N. Kara­ outstanding support. I wish Volodymyr subsequently presented to the Selection zin National University of Kharkiv. Kravchenko every success, and I offer Committee. In the ensuing decade, the Kowalsky any assistance I can provide in making After this exhaustive selection Eastern Institute devoted its efforts to the transition as smooth and effec­ process, the bulava was passed to Dr. establishing and expanding a modern tive as possible. The CIUS bulava is in Volodymyr Kravchenko of the Kharkiv intellectual space in eastern Ukraine, excellent hands. National University. My relationship developing international academic with Volodymyr goes back to 1999. At contacts, and encouraging young that time, Michael and Daria Kowal­ people to take up Ukrainian studies. sky had just made a pledge to increase To that end, the Institute carried out a their endowment fund to $2,000,000 very ambitious program of scholarly in order to establish the Kowalsky Pro­ research, publications, conferences, gram for the Study of Eastern Ukraine. and symposia. Much of this success As they paid out this commitment in was due to Volodymyr Kravchenko’s installments between 1998 and 2000, leadership and organizational abilities. I sought a reliable partner in eastern At the same time, he became a scholar Ukraine. In 1999 I issued a call for pro­ of outstanding international repute (a posals and was particularly impressed fuller biography appears elsewhere in 2 CIUS Newsletter 2012 Lead Article New CIUS Director various scholarly projects. He is the John Kolasky Memorial Fellowship Continued from page 1 founding editor and editor­in­chief of (CIUS, 2002 and 2008), the Eugene the journal Skhid-Zakhid (East­West) and Daymel Shklar Research Fellow­ and serves on the editorial boards of ship (Harvard University, 2001), “Best the scholarly journals Harvard Ukrai- Lecturer in the Humanities” from nian Studies, Journal of Ukrainian the Kharkiv regional administration Studies, and Ukraїna Moderna). He is (2000), the Petro Mohyla Award of the a member of the Advisory Council of Ministry of Education and Science of the Mykhailo Hrushevsky Institute of Ukraine (2004), and the Solomea Pav­ Ukrainian Archaeography and Source lychko Prize of the American Council Studies, National Academy of Sciences of Learned Societies (2010). of Ukraine; founder of the D. I. Bahalii Research Centre for Ukrainian Studies at the Karazin University; and found­ ing board member and first president of the International Association for the Humanities. Dr. Kravchenko was also Canadian Institute of chair of the Department of History Ukrainian Studies and Museum Studies at the Kharkiv 4­30 Pembina Hall National Academy of Culture (1999– University of Alberta 2001); director and editor­in­chief of Edmonton, AB a project to publish selected works of T6G 2H8 A recent publication by Volodymyr Kravchen- ko titled “Ukraïna, imperiia, Rosiia: Vybrani Dmytro Bahalii in six volumes (1999– Telephone: (780) 492–2972 statti z modernoï istoriï ta istoriohrafiï” 2009); director of a state research FAX: (780) 492–4967 [Ukraine, Empire, Russia: Selected Articles on program on collective identities in the E­mail: [email protected] Modern History and Historiography] Ukrainian­Russian borderland (2005– CIUS Web site: www.cius.ca Ukrainian Summer Institute (2006); 12); and a founding board member of CIUS Newsletter Helsinki University (2010), and, most the National Committee of Historians Reprints permitted with recently, the University of Alberta of Ukraine (2006).