Kule Ukrainian Canadian Studies Centre Created at CIUS, University of Alberta

Well-known Edmonton philanthropists, Drs. Peter and Doris Kule, have once again made a major donation in support of Ukrainian Studies in Canada. Having already given more than 11 million dollars to post-secondary institutions in Edmonton and Ottawa, in July 2007 they contributed $900,000 toward the establishment of an endowment dedicated to the study of Ukrainians in Canada. Combined with $100,000 that they previously donated to the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) to support research on Ukrainian communities around the world, their donation represents an outstanding investment in academic research on the Ukrainian experience outside of Ukraine.

The 1 million dollar donation  will eventually be doubled through the Government of Alberta’s matching gifts program. In combination with CIUS’s annual budgetary allocation to the Ukrainian Canadian Program, the endowment will in time triple the amount of money available for the continued development of Ukrainian Canadian Studies.

In announcing the news of their donation, Jars Balan, the administrative co-ordinator of the Ukrainian Canadian Program at CIUS, described their gesture as “unprecedented and humbling. It is hard to adequately convey our gratitude to the Kules,” explained Mr. Balan, ``because they have given so generously to so many other Ukrainian institutions. The impact they are having on Ukrainian scholarship is impossible to underestimate. Indeed, they are not only supporting historical research, they are making Ukrainian history in Canada.”

The Peter and Doris Kule Centre for Ukrainian and Canadian Folklore at the University of Alberta, the Sheptytsky Institute at the University of St. Paul (in Ottawa), the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre at Grant MacEwan College (in Edmonton), and most recently to the Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Ottawa, have all been beneficiaries of major donations by the Edmonton couple. The Kules have at the same time supported other post-secondary programs at the University of Alberta in Religious Studies, Business and Accounting.

In recognition of their gift, the Ukrainian Canadian Program is being renamed the Kule Ukrainian Canadian Studies Centre (KUCSC) at CIUS. The Diaspora Studies Initiative, which is being coordinated by Dr. Serge Cipko, will operate under the umbrella of the new Centre, whose work it both complements and enhances.

The Kule fund will provide much-needed financial stability for the conduct of scholarly investigations into Ukrainian Life in Canada. As has been the case with the Humanities in general, cutbacks and reductions in government funding to the university made it necessary for CIUS to seek grants and outside sources of revenue simply to keep pace with inflation. In the short term, the income from the endowment will help ease some of the fiscal pressures experienced by the UCP, while in the long-term, it will ensure greater self-sufficiency for Ukrainian Canadian Studies within CIUS.

Revenue from the endowment will be used to underwrite operating costs of the KUCSC, in addition to being applied to specific projects. “Although it is a significant and much appreciated infusion of new money,” observes Jars Balan, “when you consider the scope of our activities it will have to be invested wisely to ensure that it yields the maximum benefit. Given that we need to subsidize staff positions, hire contract researchers, writers and editors, sponsor conferences and disseminate the results of our research, you quickly realize that the interest on a million dollars only goes so far. Consequently, we plan to leverage some of the income by continuing to apply for project grants and by appealing for other donors to come forward, like the Kules have – to help us put Ukrainian Canadians studies on a solid financial base into the future.”

This October, Drs. Peter and Doris Kule were awarded a Shevchenko Medal by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in recognition of their contributions in promoting Ukrainian scholarship and education. … As there are only a handful of individuals who have supported education in Canada on the scale of the Kules, they are in a very exclusive club of philanthropists.

“The money could not have come at a better time,” notes Jars Balan, “considering the interest that Ukrainians in Canada as well as Ukraine are showing in the Ukrainian Heritage in Canada. The founding of several Diaspora Studies centres in Ukraine is one indication that scholars and students there are starting to appreciate the remarkable contributions that Ukrainians have made in different countries around the World. And here, many Canadians of Ukrainian descent are exploring their family histories, while at the same time wanting to learn more about the History of Ukraine and the community in Canada.”    

Jars Balan hopes that more individuals will follow the example of the Kules and support Ukrainian Canadian Studies at CIUS with donations large or small. “Ideally, we’d like to see the KUCSC endowment grow to $4 million dollars, a quarter of which could then be earmarked for more general Diaspora investigations. It would be wonderful to be able to do comparative analyses of different Ukrainian communities, and to make Canada a leading source of expertise on Ukrainian achievements globally.”