It is an honour to hold the Kule Chair of Ukrainian Community and International Development and be the Director of the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre (URDC) at Grant MacEwan University. The Kule Chair at MacEwan is one of many Kule endowments established at four Canadian universities in Ontario and Alberta.
The creation of the Kule Chair at MacEwan in 2004 helped fulfill URDC‘s mandate “to foster innovation, leadership and education within the national Ukrainian Canadian community.” The Kule Chair of Ukrainian Community and International Development is in Edmonton, Canada where it is located among Ukrainian centres, found in Edmonton's community and the University of Alberta, that work in various fields such as Ukrainian archives and museums, history, language, linguistics, and folklore.
As the incumbent chairholder I am pleased that the work of the Kule Chair of Ukrainian Community and International Development simultaneously benefits both Grant MacEwan University and the Ukrainian community of Canada. URDC is and has always been an important link between Grant MacEwan University and the community.
The Kules endowment provides an opportunity to conduct applied research for the Centre and create international projects. Based on a three million dollar endowment, the Kule Chair of Ukrainian Community and International Development engages project participants both in Canada and Eastern Europe. Annually earned revenues permit the Chair to create international projects that link partners in Ukraine with MacEwan faculty, subject matter experts from other Canadian institutions, and volunteer Ukrainian Canadian and other organizations. To date projects transferring Canadian knowledge have taken place in the fields of nursing, farming, business education and inclusive education.
URDC creates new Ukrainian Canadian program opportunities that contribute to the betterment of Canadian society as a whole. Our door is open to all individuals and organizations wishing to enlist URDC’s assistance in developing projects that link Canada and Ukraine.
Dr. W. Roman Petryshyn
Kule Chair of Ukrainian Community and International Development
Director, Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre
