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[FIRST UKRAINIAN STATE UNIVERSITY] Proekt Statuta Derzhavnykh Ukrainskykh universytetiv. Vid Kaminetskoi Universitetskoi Komisii [i.e. Draft charter of Ukrainian state universities. By the Kamianets University Commission]

Item #2316

[Kamianets-Podilskyi]: Drukarnia Sv[iato]-Tr[oitskoho] Bratstva, [1918]. 28 pp. 16 x 10,5 cm. Typed publisher’s paper cover. In Ukrainian. Fine.

The edition, that marks a large shift for national Ukrainian education. The relatively small city Kamianets-Podilskyi (modern population under 100 000) during the unrest period was the official residence point for chief army officer of Ukrainian nationalists, Symon Petliura (1879-1926). Ukrainian national army and the nationalist intellectuals understood the importance of nourishing the new educated breed of architects of future nation-centric Ukraine: pro-Hetman teachers, officials and scientific elite. The Statute however aimed to establish the foundation of not only one institution, but a whole system of standardised Ukrainian higher education. But the action plan was to begin with one entity in the region. In a short period a representative commission was formed.

The University was actually only the second one to introduce the educational and administrative processes in Ukrainian. Earlier, following a Pan-Ukrainian educational congress of 1917, Kiev National University became the first one to lead the Ukrainisation of higher education. In April 1918 a delegation from the said Kiev National
University came to Kamianets-Podilskyi and together with the local commission introduced the general outline that is embodied in this project. The Statue project initially was done in Kiev and the present print — as per preface — was meant for local distribution and subsequent public discussion. It was quite probably a fundraising document as starting a University from scratch was a highly expensive endeavor. Mid-Summer 1918, Ukrainian Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi signed the foundational act to form a Pan-Ukrainian university. In just half a year, the ambitious project became a reality. The University was solemnly opened in Kamianets- Podilskyi on October 22, 1918. Ivan Ohiienko
(1882-1972) became the first chancellor of the University while such figures like historian Dmytro Doroshenko (1882—1951) and poet Mykhailo Drai-Khmara (1889—1939) led the professional education.

The Statue draft consists of three parts. First one is a short introductory note from the committee that declares establishing the University in the region with three initial faculties: philology, nature studies and industrial. It follows with part I of Statute in which the organisation of managing the University is outlined with main management
distributed between Rada as the main collective governing body, Uprava, concentrated on day to day organisation and financials and faculty management that is responsible for educational processes and minor administrative tasks. Under the statute, the church was also planned to operate within the University, but with no administrative influence whatsoever. In general, the Statute could be characterised as independent with a slight degree of reliance on the government, also secular and democratic, with many decisions going through a voting process.

Unlike the Kiev University, Kamianets-Podilskyi educational institution persisted into the Soviet era. The number of faculties was increased to 5 with additional departments within. According to materials of modern Kamianets-Podilskyi natsionalnyi universytet im. Ivana Ohiienka, during the first year 493 students were enrolled and in 2 years this number tripled. The university was operating even as the city was changing hands of armies. Today the university has a national status as a diverse structure of 11 faculties.

National Bibliography of Ukraine, vol. I (1798-1903), #2397.
In Ukrainian state archive lacunae list: Bibliohrafichnyi pokazhchyk vidsutnikh u fondi Derzhavnoho arkhivu druku neperiodychnykh i periodychnykh vydan 1917—1918 rr. (Kiev, 2010), #475.

Rare. WorldCat shows 1 copy in Poland.
Not in KVK.

Price: $1,500.00