Ihor Pasichnyk: “Every Ukrainian must spend time in the land of the first Ukrainian enlighteners”

In the past several years, the readers and editorial staff of The Day have been witnesses to the birth or should I say rather rebirth, of the “Ukrainian marvel,” the celebrated Ostroh Academy. After experiencing the inimitable aura of enlightenment, genuine Ukrainian patriotism, and profound morality, a visitor inadvertently begins to understand that after the centuries of oblivion and years of chaos and ambiguity, the dream cherished by the great Ostroh enlighteners has finally — and surprisingly — been translated into life, namely through the founding of a seat of cultural and scholarly life, where the foundations of the Ukrainian nation’s intellectual elite would be laid. “Thanks to God’s blessings and our staff’s devoted efforts, we succeeded in establishing an institution of higher learning that is unique in today’s Ukraine and gathers within its walls the best representatives of the new Ukrainian generation,” says Prof. Ihor Pasichnyk, the rector of Ostroh Academy, whose enthusiasm and tireless energy will be a model for more than one generation of graduates. 2006 is especially important for the academy, as this year marks a triple jubilee: 430 years since the academy’s inception, 425 years since the publication of the Ostroh Bible, and 450 years since the writing of the Peresopnytsia Gospel. As a rule, such dates are not just a reason for celebrating but also an occasion for reminding the rest of the world about the academy’s achievements, rethinking what has been accomplished, and defining plans in a more clear-cut fashion.

Dr. Pasichnyk, the fact that your university has been a unique institution since its inception needs no commentary. Ostroh Academy marked the beginning of post-secondary education in Eastern Europe. What is also interesting is that this higher school, located in a provincial town, has one of the highest numbers of students in all of Ukraine competing to enroll here. What is your secret-Ostroh Academy’s glorious history or the latest technologies?

I.P. : That’s an interesting question. Let me first argue with you about Ostroh’s “provincial town” status. A province is not a place where there is no subway but where there is no progress. Ostroh is evolving at a fast pace, mostly owing to Ostroh Academy, of course. Unlike other small towns, Ostroh is a university town with an advanced infrastructure.

As for Ostroh academy’s achievements, intelligent people know that a higher school can be simply a tool for obtaining a diploma if there is no idea upon which future specialists are being raised. Ostroh Academy has this idea: we are raising our students on the principles of patriotism and Christian morals. I consider the fact that we have almost 25 people competing for one place due not only to the popularity of our university but to the popularity of these principles, which are very important for contemporary Ukrainian society.

Today, Ukraine needs not just doers but also people who know that by working for themselves they are simultaneously building a solid foundation of a future great state. We can train a specialist, but this training is worthless without moral principles. In my opinion, this is the main factor of success. There is no doubt, of course, that those cutting-edge teaching techniques that we began implementing since the inception of our revival, are very important in shaping modern, highly qualified, and most importantly, competitive specialists. To begin with, we were among the first in Ukraine to implement a module rating system that largely encourages students to become better prepared, instilling in them a sense of responsibility, which brings us closer to the Bologna process. We have borrowed a number of positive experiences from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy — I should also point out that we are placing big hopes on it in conjunction with the rebirth and maturation of Ostroh Academy National University.

We also invite foreign lecturers. Today we have professors from the US, Canada, and Poland. This allows our students to acquire a variety of experiences and compare the Ukrainian way of life to life in the West. Strange as it may seem, our graduates are more in demand abroad than in Ukraine. After obtaining an excellent education and training in their respective fields, these young people are hard put to accept low-paying jobs that often show that they have no future.

This brings us to the question of how market demand corresponds to the quality of such specialists, something that has been discussed at length. Employers are complaining about the low professional level of their employees, while the latter complain about being offered jobs that are below their professional level. What are the roots of this problem?

I.P. : This is a complicated question, and I can’t think of an immediate answer. Of course, one must understand the employers’ position first. If they hire a graduate from a questionable higher school with an equally questionable diploma, which is worse if there are of graduates like this, the unavoidable impression is that Ukrainian education does not conform to labor market needs. The roots of this problem are much deeper than we imagine. On the other hand, graduates of higher educational institutions often face other problems, for example, when they have to pay to get a position in a given organization. An Ostroh Academy graduate will never accept a job with such an organization because subconsciously he is against corruption and bribery. Raising such students is the formula for the state’s development. In Ostroh Academy this was understood from the very beginning, when our university was revived. We can only hope that the same thing will be understood at all levels of the educational system but also by the state administration.

This year’s anniversary is profoundly symbolic for Ostroh Academy. First, because it is a triple jubilee and second, because Ostroh Academy is the first institution of higher learning not only in Ukraine but also in Eastern Europe. So this is not just a celebration for the students and faculty of Ostroh Academy but for all of Ukraine. How are you planning to mark this occasion?

I.P. : This is truly a significant year for Ukraine. The Ostroh Bible is the first canonical translation of the Bible in a European language. Imagine: the Holy Bible was translated into Latin eight years later. A resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reads that this date will be marked on the highest level. What makes this date even more significant is the fact that one of our teachers, the Rev. Rafail Torkoniak, who has a Ph.D. in theology, has completed a Ukrainian version of the Ostroh Bible, after 30 years of Herculean work. He has been nominated for the Taras Shevchenko State Prize.

We are planning a conference in conjunction with this event, which will be attended by clergymen from all Christian confessions. By the way, in that same year, 1581, Valentyn Nehalevsky translated the Bible into the Ukrainian vernacular in the village of Khoroshiv, not far from Ostroh. As you see, the founding of Ostroh Academy provided a powerful impetus to Ukrainian enlightenment. There is another date that I think one simply cannot overlook at Ostroh Academy, the 450 th anniversary of the Peresopnytsia Gospel.

The 430th anniversary of this first Ukrainian institution of higher learning is also a date that should be celebrated throughout Ukraine. In addition to conferences, seminars, and concerts, we are planning to mark this date by opening Ukraine’s first virtual reference library with some 100 workstations connected to practically every library database in the world. Also, our library building is a masterpiece of architecture, harmoniously blending into the ensemble of Ostroh Academy National University. So we welcome all of Ukraine to visit Ostroh Academy, because every Ukrainian must visit the land of the first Ukrainian enlighteners. Then perhaps we will become aware of the need for a truly national Ukrainian education.