VCU and Harvard program provides academic resources to Ukrainians displaced by war

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Selected Ukrainian scholars forced to flee their homeland by the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war will be offered academic resources through a collaboration between Harvard University and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond.

According to a July 17 press release, the VCU-Davis Center Non-Resident Academic Associates program launched on July 1.

Through this year-long program, select scholars will receive virtual access to things like VCU’s information resources and library liaison services, providing them with academic support during wartime.

“In many cases, regular access to these resources at the scholars’ home universities has been disrupted, either because their cities have been occupied or because Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy and other infrastructure have disrupted power and internet services,” VCU scholar Judyth Twigg said in the press release. “This virtual connection between VCU and Harvard, leveraging VCU’s world-class research materials and services, will provide an intellectual lifeline for these scholars so they are not cut off from access to resources essential to their work.”

In addition to the virtual resources provided, fellows will be connected with VCU departments working on similar research to theirs. According to the press release, this allows scientists to receive direct support and creates the opportunity for collaborative research and programming.

The press release lists the first nine scientists participating in this program. Three are humanities scholars, three are social scientists, and three are physical and natural scientists.

Their names, home schools and academic focuses are as follows:

• Ihor Dvorkin
  • Associate Professor in the Departments of History of Science and of Ukrainian and Cultural Studies at the Polytechnic Institute of Kharkiv National Technical University.
  • Research interests include World War II memory in Ukraine, Jewish and Holocaust studies, memory studies, and museum studies.
• Alla Friedrich
  • Associate Professor in the Department of Philology, Rivne State University for the Humanities.
  • The research focus is on teaching and learning English in emergency situations.
• Alexander Kondratenko
  • Professor at the Department of Applied Mechanics and Environmental Technologies at the National University of Civil Defense of Ukraine (Kharkiv).
  • The research focuses on improving the environmental compatibility of combustion engines for emergency vehicles.
• Iryna Liashenko
  • Associate Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages, Sumy State University.
  • The research includes online language teaching, with a focus on English language learning among Ukrainian doctoral students.
• Mariana Maslova
  • Associate Professor at the Institute of Foreign Languages, Zaporizhia University
  • Studies discourse linguistics, text interpretation and text linguistics with mathematical methods as well as neurolinguistics.
• Denis Scheka
  • Professor at the Department of Nanophysics of Condensed Media at the Educational Institute of High Technologies, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
  • The research focus is on the theory of nonlinear phenomena in nanomagnets and the theory of curvilinear magnetism.
• Victoria Strilets
  • Professor and Head of the Department of International Economics at Poltava University of Economics and Trade.
  • Studies digital entrepreneurship, digital transformation of small and medium-sized businesses and development of a digital business ecosystem in Ukraine.
• Natalia Tsybuliak
  • Associate Professor at the Faculty of Preschool, Special and Social Pedagogy, Berdyansk State Pedagogical University.
  • Research areas include mental health and science, and the value of teaching and learning in higher education during times of crisis and war.
• Ohla Zibtseva
  • Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine.
  • The focus of the work is on the sustainable development of green space systems in small towns in the Kyiv region.

The program was conceived in collaboration between Twigg and Daniel Epstein of the Davis Center, the deputy director of Scholars without Borders.