A new rector was elected at the Ukrainian Catholic University – Taras Dobko, PhD, who previously held the position of the university’s first vice-rector. The UCU senators voted for the relevant decision at the Senate meeting on June 24, 2023.
Taras Dobko ran for rector elections with a program called “The University that Serves.” According to him, at a time of full-scale war, UCU is called to be a prophetic example of all the best that Ukraine can be. “Today we live in debt, at the expense of borrowed time, obtained for us by our defenders. This should be a productive time where our first priority as an academic community is to generate hope—a vision for our country’s future and the ability to realize it. As Patriarch Lubomyr Huzar told us: “We cannot and should not lose hope for better times. “Instead of despairing, get to work,” said the newly elected rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University.
At the Senate meeting on June 24, 2023
Taras Dobko emphasized that the UCU community is called to show leadership in three main areas: healing the wounds of war and restoring/modernizing Ukraine, promoting the Ukrainian agenda in the world, and creating a spiritual Christian offer for people of the 21st century.
“Today, education is facing the challenge of radical changes. Global competition for talent, the rapid development of artificial intelligence, the emergence of entrepreneurial players in the education market, and pandemic threats are putting significant pressure on educational institutions and their ability to adequately fulfill their mission. Under the influence of the war and its challenges, young Ukrainians are looking for knowledge that is most relevant in these circumstances, can help them better understand what is happening and find their own special way in the conditions of global uncertainty. So, on the one hand, UCU should build an institutional culture open to innovations and experiments in the educational process. On the other hand, the main criterion for assessing the expediency of their implementation should be the holistic development of the student and the young person’s awareness of the importance of the common good,” Taras Dobko emphasized during the Senate meeting.
As is known, Fr. Bohdan Prah has been the head of the Ukrainian Catholic University since September 2013. Therefore, August 2023 marks the 10th year of his service as rector of Ukrainian Catholic University. Since the legislation of Ukraine on education provides for the possibility of holding the position of head of a higher education institution for no more than two terms (maximum 10 years), and in keeping with the corporate culture of UCU, Fr. During the March meeting of the University Senate, Bohdan Prach announced his intention to leave the post of rector of UCU on July 1, 2023. Therefore, the Senate of the Ukrainian Catholic University announced a competition for the position of rector of the university and formed a nomination committee to conduct rector elections headed by Senator Andrii Gunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, former director of the UKU branch in London.
On June 24, during the meeting of the UCU Senate, the presentation of the candidate’s program, a question-and-answer session and discussion took place, followed by a secret vote, the result of which was the election of Dr. Taras Dobko as rector of the UCU.
The Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church His Beatitude Svyatoslav, who is the Great Chancellor of UCU, thanked Father Rector Bohdan Prahova for 10 years of dedicated service and close cooperation: “The intellectual community of UCU is part of the community of our Church. Father Bohdan always kept an eye on the ecclesiastical dimension of the university. I really want to thank you for the development of the pastoral department, which today has become a separate deanery within the structure of the university. This is extremely important, because today our university is a site of powerful evangelization. Most of the students who study are not Greek Catholics, but with enthusiasm and surprise they discover the face of our Church in the UCU community, which knows how to capture and not force, knows how to open perspectives, but never force.”
Father Bohdan Prah thanked His Beatitude Svyatoslav, Bishop Boris Gudziak, Taras Dobko, senators and the university team for their many years of service and support: “My time serving at UCU as rector was a great challenge for me and at the same time a joy to work with an incredible team. I am grateful to the Lord God for this blessed time. Thanks to the team, the rectorate – they are as strong as concrete. The success of our university lies in the fact that we all feel responsible for society and create something valuable and useful not only for us personally, but also for society. And I thank you all for that. May God bless Taras Dobko, I wish him to always connect with the Lord, to listen to what the Lord wants to convey to him and to our whole community. Then everything will be fine.”
Andriy Gunder, UCU senator and head of the nomination committee for rector elections, comments: “Today a historic event took place – the election of a new rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University. The Senate unanimously elected Taras Dobko to this position. Now the whole village