Wrzesnewskyj Foundation Donates to Ottawa Chair

OTTAWA–Borys Wrzesnewskyj, MP in the Toronto riding of Etobicoke Centre, presented a cheque in the amount of $70,000, on October 25, to the Chair of Ukrainian Studies of the University of Ottawa on behalf of his family’s charitable foundation, the Dopomoha Ukraini Foundation. The donation will fund the Chair’s electronic newsletter, the Ukraine List (UKL).

The UKL is an academic/current affairs newsletter aimed at scholars, journalists, government analysts, key decision-makers, businessmen, NGO practitioners and community activists interested in Ukraine. Nearly half of UKL’s subscribers have joined the List since the historic 2004 second-round vote in Ukraine, and it reaches individuals in over 40 countries.

The donation was accepted on behalf of the University of Ottawa by Dr. Francois Houle, Dean for the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Chairholder Dr. Dominique Arel.

“The University made a commitment in making possible the appointment of a Chairholder. We are delighted that Mr. Wrzesnewskyj and the Dopomoha Ukraini Foundation recognize the importance of the Chair in funding one of its most ambitious programs,” said Dean Houle.

The Foundation’s initial contribution will support UKL, its network of research assistants and translators, as well as a project of web archives. The Foundation is also underwriting an initiative aimed at developing a Centre for Contemporary Archives on Ukraine.

The Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Ottawa is the first research unit focused on the study of political, economic and social issues in contemporary Ukraine.