25 Years of The J.B. Rudnyckyj Distinguished Lecture Series

                     Dr. Jaroslav B. Rudnyckyj (1910 -1995)
            Winnipeg Tribune Personality Newsclippings Index,
                           Winnipeg Tribune fonds, A81-12

             Poster of the First Lecture with Serhiy Holovaty

          Poster of the Second Lecture with Chrystia Freeland

          Poster of the Thirteenth Lecture with Andrei Kurkov

On March 8, 2018, the J.B. Rudnyckyj Lecture Series presented its 25th talk, with guest speaker, Andreas Umland.  The roots of the lecture series go back to June 1992, when the late Dr. Jaroslav B. Rudnyckyj established the J.B. Rudnyckyj Endowment Fund. The newly created fund was to facilitate the growth and promotion of the Slavic Collection (Elizabeth Dafoe Library), by way of new acquisitions, as well as the preservation, maintenance and growth of the Slavic portion of the U of M Archives & Special Colelctions. In addition, the funds was to sponsor an annual lecture series, that would bring to the University of Manitoba, an internationally acknowledged scholar, to speak on a topic of interest to those pursuing Eastern European and/ or Slavic Studies.

The very first J.B. Rudnyckyj Distinguished Lecture took place on November 3, 1994 with guest speaker, Serhiy Holovaty, independent Ukraine's first Minister of  Justice.  Since that time, the lecture committee has invited numerous esteemed scholars and personalities to come speak  at the University of Manitoba. Some of the past Rudnyckyj Lecture guest speakers include: Chrystia Freeland, former deputy editor of the Financial Times and current Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs; noted Canadian journalist, Victor Malarek; former Minister of Environmental Protection, and Ukraine's former ambassador to Canada, Yuri Scherbak; contemporary Ukrainian writer and activist, Oksana Zabuzhko; acclaimed Ukrainian writer and novelist, Andrei Kurkov; prominent author and historian; Timothy Snyder;  and the Mykhailo Hrushevsky professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard University, Serhii Plokhy.

Jaroslav Bohdan Rudnyckyj was born in 1910 in Peremyshl, Galicia. He studied at the University of L’viv, where he obtained his M.A. in 1934, and his Ph.D  in 1937,  having specialized in Slavic philology and the onomastics (geographical place names) of eastern Europe. To continue these and other studies abroad, he left his homeland in 1937, staying for a short time in Berlin, Rome, and Paris, before lecturing in Slavic philology at the Ukrainian Free University in Prague. In 1949, shortly after his immigration to Canada, he was appointed chairman of the newly created Department of Slavic Studies at the University of Manitoba, a position he held until 1976. He also served as a professor with the Ukrainian Free University  in Munich (1943-1980).

Czas Digitization Project

   Example of one of digitized pages of Czas 
 (the main page of the July 21, 1920 issue)

  The online format of the Czas searchable database.

 

 An example showing the complete digitized pages of a single issue 

of Czas (the July 21, 1920 issue ).

Czas is the oldest Polish language newspaper weekly in Canada. It was established in Winnipeg in the fall of 1914, and first published by a local Canadian firm owned and operated by the well—known Czech immigrant, Franciszek Dojacek. From its beginnings, Czas ensured that its Polish roots and content remained intact, as it was closely connected with members of the Polish Gymnastic Association, Sokol. It was through Sokol’s perseverance and guidance that facilitated the creation of the newspaper. Following the post war years, the Polish Combatants' Association (SPB) provided steadfast support of the paper.  In 2004 the publication relocated to Toronto, and merged with another Polish newspaper, Związkowiec (The Alliance), to form Czas-Związkowiec.  For nearly a century it has remained an invaluable resource of information to the Polish community in Canada -- informing new immigrants of local and international events, and assisting them with the new challenges and adjustments they faced in their new country.

In the Fall of 2003 the executive board of Czas – Polish Press Ltd., agreed to find a permanent home for their collection of bound newspapers. The Board approached the U of M Archives & Special Collections to house this unique and historical collection of Polish-Canadiana. In January 2004 the executive board of Czas officially transferred the Czas newspaper collection from Czas – Polish Press Ltd., to the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.

With the support of the members of the Friends of Czas, the U of M Archives has embarked on digitizing the complete run of Czas from 1915 to 2004,  which corresponds to the period when the newspaper was headquartered in Winnipeg. Thanks to a University of Manitoba Outreach Award, and a  Heritage Grant  from the Province of Manitoba, the years 1920-1951 have so far been digitized. Additional years will be digitized over the next several months, -- with the eventual digitization of the entire run up to, and including the year 2004. In addition, thanks to the support and expertise of the U of M Libraries' Discovery & Delivery Services, the Czas online searchable database has been created and uploaded to the University of Manitoba Digital Collections' website. The search engine is able to conduct keyword searches with or without inputting diacritics or ligature signs that are found in the Polish alphabet.

U of M Polish Language Program Fundraiser Luncheon

 

Poster for the Fundraiser for the U of M 

Polish Studies Language Program

Keynote speaker, General Walter Natynczyk (centre, standing right of the PSA banner), is flanked by members of the U of M Polish Students' Association. Photo courtesy of the U of M Polish Students' Association

The Canadian Polish Congress, Manitoba Branch, sponsored a luncheon in support of the Polish Studies Program in the Department of German & Slavic Studies, in order to raise money for the Polish Studies Fund. The event took place on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at the Garden City Canad Inn.

The keynote speaker at the event was General Walter Natynczyk, Deputy Minister of Veterans Affais and former president of the Canadian Space Agency. General Natynczyk was raised in Winnipeg's North End, and graduating from Sisler High School.  He joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1975, and over the years his career would take him to Germany, Cypress, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia. General Natynczyk served as Canada's Chief of Defence from 2008-2012.  After returning to civilian life, he became president of the Canadian Space Agency, from 2013-2014. and is currently serving as Canadian Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs.

The well-attended event, included several dignitaires, including:  His Excellency, Grzegorz Morawski, the Council General of the Republic of Poland (Toronto); the Honourable, Flor Marcelino, Manitoba's Minister of Multiculturalism and Literacy,  and  the Honourable, Melanie Wight, Manitoba's Minister of Children and Youth Opportunities. Present at the event,  and representing the University of Manitoba, were: Dr. Greg Smith, Associate Dean of Arts: and Dr. Stephan Jaeger, Head, Department of German & Slavic Studies. The event also honoured the Department's Instructor for Polish Studies, Professor Magda Blackmore, who over the past decade, has built-up and greatly promoted the Polish Studies Program at the university.