Our Generous Donors
In this section, we feature our generous supporters who embrace the mission of Ukrainian Catholic University as their own. They decided to make a difference in the lives of many young Ukrainian students.
Kostiantyn Shumsky
Founder of the annual Vasyl Shumskyi scholarship for UCU students
“Why the Ukrainian Catholic University? Because it’s one of the few institutions of higher education in Ukraine where there’s no corruption. I really like its atmosphere. Here you encounter good and intelligent faces, the deep eyes of young people who truly want to learn.
“The university educates those specialists who will raise up Ukraine, who in their work will pass on to others that spirit of goodness, intellectualism, and support of the needy that I feel here.”
Jose Casanova
Professor, Georgetown University, Department of Sociology
It was a great experience to come, to be able to teach, and to spend some time, exchange opinions, thoughts, and see how the university functions. And I was very impressed by three things.
The first very obvious level – administration. Everything runs smoothly, perfectly, unexpectedly well. But this is only the external.
The second is the sense of community. One gets the sense that this is not only a professional institution that gives degrees but that constructs a community of spirit, of intellect, even an ethical community, in which you see the way in which both professors and students share values, ideas.
I was very impressed by the level of the students. When I had the opportunity to give five lectures, we had every day at least a one hour discussion, and we always went over time, and the questions always reflected the way the students were following the lectures, but also went beyond the lectures and applied to different contexts.
So in all these respects, I think that the Ukrainian Catholic University has been able to construct a kind of island of intellectual excellence, of serious spiritual reflection, engagement with the tradition, both the Ukrainian tradition and the Eastern Christian spiritual tradition, and, I think, create or form a new generation of young professionals who I think one should have hope that they will make an impact on Ukrainian society in the future.
So in all these respects, it’s a very, very impressive enterprise, and I think it deserves support from society. I know the Ukrainian diaspora in American is very supportive, but I would be very, very glad to communicate this message of how impressed I was with every level – intellectual, professional, spiritual – of the university.
Roman Ciapalo
Roman Ciapalo, Professor, Loras College, Department of Philosophy
“For the last two summers, I have had the privilege of giving some lectures at UCU’s Philosophy Summer School, an excellent and well-organized school, with some outstanding, highly motivated, and well-prepared graduate-level philosophy students, led by caring and dedicated members of the UCU faculty and focused on timely topics.
“The intensity of the teaching and learning atmosphere is due in no small measure to UCU’s wise choice of a location distant from the potential distractions of daily life in Lviv, making the experience more akin to that of an intellectual retreat which allows the participants to immerse themselves in reflection upon the school’s annual theme in a way that is intense, productive, and satisfying. Although it is the edification of the students that is paramount, a personal bonus is that I always come away intellectually and spiritually refreshed, with a renewed optimism about Ukraine’s future.”
Dr. John Hewko
“I am a very strong supporter of [the Ukrainian Catholic] University for three main reasons.
“First, it’s a university for all Ukrainians, with students and staff from throughout Ukraine and of various religious backgrounds. Second, it provides a high-quality education. Third, it is based on ethics and morals.”
Dr. John Hewko is a member of the Senate (governing body) of the Ukrainian Catholic University and a devoted donor of the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation. He is the General Secretary and CEO of Rotary International.
Dr. Andrew Sorokowski
“I find the atmosphere at the Ukrainian Catholic University quite healthy — a vibrant island of Catholicism in the sinking European sea.”
Dr. Sorokowski, an independent scholar, is a long-time friend of the Ukrainian Catholic University, supporter of the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, and an ongoing contributor to the website of the Religious Information Service of Ukraine, RISU
Dr. George Liber
I just returned from a trip to Europe and attended an international conference at UCU [the Ukrainian Catholic University] on June 26-28, 2016. I last visited UCU in 2006 and found it a fascinating institution of higher learning, easily the best in Ukraine.
