Dear Colleagues:
With the fall academic season well underway, I would like to thank you for your participation in our society’s work and to wish you a productive, enjoyable year!
During the past 2018–2019 year, the Shevchenko Scientific Society presented two international conferences (the centenary of the Western Ukrainian National Republic, in November 2018, and our traditional Shevchenko Conference in March); inaugurated an English-language electronic newsletter; published two Ukrainian-language bulletins; several books in our Shevchenko series; as well as Book 3 of the Encyclopedia of the Ukrainian Diaspora (United States). The Grants Committee examined over 100 applications before selecting this year’s 21 recipients, the eighth annual Platon Kostyuk Award for research in neuroscience was granted; and the Publications Committee awarded seven grants. Our Library identified and catalogued close to 6,000 duplicates, which it is now in the process of disbursing to other academic libraries. Other standing committee and academic section work continued apace, as did our weekly lectures.
This year’s opening event, the September 14 Donor Appreciation Reception, set the stage for a program of increased community visibility, of interaction with our members, donors, and related organizations. With a full-house attendance, were pleased to host representatives from the Ukrainian consulate, the Ukrainian institute of America, the Ukrainian Museum, Razom, and our partners in the Special Student Scholarship program for victims of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America. It was our opportunity to present the reports of scholarship winners, mount a sizeable book display of sponsored publications, a musical program, a silent auction of artwork, and especially to thank our donors. A video of the event is available here.
On September 28 the Shevchenko Scientific Society’s Center for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research presented an exciting new publication: The Atlas of Ukrainians in the United States. It is the result of many years of study of American census data, with excellent cartographic work completed with the help of our Ukrainian colleagues.
Among our priorities for the upcoming academic year is the completion of the library reorganization and a special focus on cataloguing and digitizing our archival holdings. Over the years, have been entrusted with invaluable collections, including materials from the Displaced Persons camps, legers documenting the Holodomor, papers of the Soviet dissident movement, and many vitally important individual archives of leading political and cultural figures of the Ukrainian emigration. A systematic description, creation of finders’ aids, and ultimately digitization will secure this legacy for future generations of scholars. This is a labor-intensive task requiring serious financing, but it is a challenge we are obligated to meet.
I invite all of you to attend our weekly seminars and our upcoming international conference on the legacy of Pantelimon Kulish (1819–1897), close friend and collaborator of Taras Shevchenko and one of the founders of modern Ukrainian identity. The conference will be held at the Ukrainian Institute of America on November 17. For those who cannot attend, please be aware that most of our events can now be viewed on our YouTube channel online.
I also invite all of you to participate in our work in whichever way your time allows. Please contact us with your ideas, proposals, and offers of help with projects that further our mission of fostering Ukraine-related scholarship in the broadest sense of the word. We will be happy to hear from you. There is much that can and should be done.
Thank you for your support of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in the U.S.
Sincerely,
Halyna Hryn