The Russian invasion has impacted Concordia's Ukrainian university, as well as professors and alumni at home.
On Tuesday, March 1, Wisconsin media outlets joined a Zoom call with a handful of Concordia’s Ukrainian alumni and employees. More than 23 years ago, Concordia’s then-president, Rev. Dr. John Buuck, along with Dr. Oleksandr Romanovskyi and his wife, Dr. Julia Romanovska, co-founded the university in Ukraine, now called Ukrainian-American Concordia University.
UACU had grown to serve nearly 1,000 students, but enrollment took a hit amid COVID. Today, the university employs more than 70 faculty and staff and enrolls some 600 students who are pursuing degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels, mostly in business. About 73% of those students are native Ukrainians.
Upon the initial Russian air strike, the Ukrainian Ministry of Education called for national school suspensions for at least two weeks. Thus, UACU classes are currently halted, and UACU employees are frantically trying to ensure the safety of their students and employees.
In the media
Click on the images below to view Wisconsin media’s coverage.
WISN12
Fox6
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Fox6
Dr. Oleg Ivanets joined Concordia’s faculty at the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year. Based on the Ann Arbor campus, he serves as Chair of Quantitative Business for CUW and CUAA.
Ivanets was born in Ukraine and lived in his native country until 2013 when he moved to the United States to pursue his PhD. His parents and friends still live in Kyiv.
Fox6 reporter Sam Kraemer spoke with Ivanets on Sunday, Feb. 27.
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