Established in 2001 with the support of Petro Jacyk and the Petro Jacyk Education Foundation, the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine promotes scholarly understanding of the government, economy and society in contemporary Ukraine, as well as the country’s history and culture. The Petro Jacyk Program is housed within the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, one of North America’s leading institutions for research on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Newly Independent States.
The program actively encourages scholars in Ukrainian studies at the University of Toronto and Ukrainianists in other North American institutions to develop joint projects, and facilitates the study of Ukraine by organizing workshops, conferences, lectures and seminars. The program brings visiting scholars from Ukraine and invites Ukraine’s statesmen and cultural figures to speak as part of its guest lecture series.
The major themes covered by the program focus on the challenges of an independent Ukraine and include: building an effective state; foreign policy and international relations; and education, culture and national identity.
The activities and initiatives of the program are administered by the Director of CERES with the help of a Program Coordinator. The Coordinating Committee plays an advisory role and determines program priorities from year to year.
Founding donors
Petro Jacyk
Petro Jacyk was born July 7, 1921 in Verkhnie Syniovydne, Ukraine. After immigrating to Canada in 1949, he established a successful building and land development firm. He generously supported the Ukrainian Encyclopedia project, and was instrumental in the establishment of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. He financed the Jacyk Collection of Ukrainian Serials, the Central and East European Resource Centre, the Endowment for Ukrainian Periodicals, and other projects at the University of Toronto Library. In 1989, the Jacyk Centre for Ukrainian Historical Research was established at the University of Alberta based on Jacyk’s one-million-dollar donation. The Centre’s projects include the English-language publication of Mykhailo Hrushevsky’s History of Ukraine-Rus’, two publication series in Ukraine and in the West, and archival projects. He has supported many other initiatives through the Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation, including the endowment of the Jacyk Ukrainian Studies Program at Columbia University in New York (1994) and the Jacyk Lectureship in Ukrainian Studies at the University of London (1991).
In 1995, Petro Jacyk received an honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Alberta. President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine honoured Petro Jacyk with the Presidential Prize of Ukraine for his patronage of Ukrainian culture, education, and scholarship in 1996. In 2000, Petro Jacyk was honoured for his philanthropy with the Yaroslav the Wise Order award, Ukraine’s highest distinction presented to civilians in service to Ukraine.
In 2001, a $1 million gift from a Ukrainian-Canadian businessman established a graduate program and graduate scholarships in the study of Ukraine at the University of Toronto. Since then, the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine has promoted the study of developments in contemporary Ukraine as well as Ukrainian history and culture.
Annual report
The most current program report for year 2019-2020 is available for download.