Two Decades of Scholarship and Service: Report on the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (1992-2012)

Abstract

This essay provides an overview of the activity of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) during the two decades when the author served as its director. During that time he and his CIUS colleagues pursued the goals of integrating and mainstreaming Ukrainian studies into North American and world scholarship and becoming the leading world research institution dedicated to the discovery, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge about Ukraine and Ukrainians. The CIUS did so by supporting research; publishing scholarly and educational materials; organizing seminars, lectures, and conferences; promoting Ukrainian studies courses at colleges and universities; granting scholarships and fellowships; and providing knowledge and understanding of Ukraine to academic, political, diplomatic, military, and business communities in Canada and abroad. This essay describes these activities and efforts in detail, including in the areas of Ukrainian-Canadian studies, promoting Ukrainian studies in Ukraine and Russia, monitoring and assessing events in Ukraine, and assisting Ukraine’s transition to a democratic society and a free-market economy.