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.
George Jurkiw
George Jurkiw, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, is a retired Vice-President and General Manager of North American Controls, a defense contractor that helped produced valuable technology and fire suppression equipment for the A-1 Abrams tank. He and his wife, Zenovia, have funded a lecture hall in the Academic Building of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) and more recently contributed $100,000 in support of UCU’s program in Rehabilitation Medicine to provide healing and recovery to Ukraine’s wounded veterans and refugees. Their daughter Dr. Ulana Suprun has received a Presidential Medal of Honor from President Poroshenko for her outstanding humanitarian efforts and medical training to help save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers defending their country against Russian aggression. Mr. Jurkiw is also a gifted musician who sang for many years with the renowned Detroit-based Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus.
Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak
Commenting on the students of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Dr. Lushniak said how inspiring it is “to see the incredible talent of the young generation of Ukraine, who speak with passion, speak with truth, speak with love for this country.” Dr. Lushniak is currently Dean of Public Health at the University of Maryland.
Video of full speech, delivered on November 6, 2016, available here
Morris Paley
“As a past Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) and Lviv Holy Spirit Seminary English teacher from 2002 to 2004 from Canada, I strongly believe that all instructors and staff supporting the students of these institutions provide an excellent path and roadmap for the students’ success professionally, spiritually and mentally for Ukraine as a whole. I am so grateful having been associated with these students as many of them will be terrific leaders of Ukraine today and years to come.
“I also had the extreme pleasure of teaching under the leadership of then Rector Dr Bohdan Prach and Patriarch Sviatoslav Shewchuk. Prior to arriving in August 2002 in Lviv and Rudno Ukraine from Kelowna, my career of 20 years began as a computer programmer, then a software course developer and then a software trainer within the engineering sector.
“To conclude, the privilege of sharing my western ideas and experiences with these UCU graduates in the best interests of all Ukrainians today and in the years forward. This was an amazing, life giving experience for me and I thank all past and present donors for this privilege.”
Morris Paley
Now residing in Burlington, Canada
Rev. Michael Perry
Pastor Emeritus of Our Lady of Refuge Parish in Brooklyn, NY
“The first time I was here [at the Ukrainian Catholic University] I saw nothing. Now I see everything. What I saw here was an empty field. And I saw dreams. Now if you really look at dreams, there’s nothing there but dreams. And now the dreams are realized, but only in part, because there’s still so much to go.
“But what I see here is just a magnificent manifestation of people coming together with pride, with energy, with money, and with a will to build from an empty field into a university that is just an incredible example of modern thought, of planning, of a desire to change and to build a new Ukraine, to build the kingdom of God in a place where it was once forbidden to be.”
