George Gajecky (, ''Yurii Gajecky''; born 23 April 1941) is a

Ukrainian American Ukrainian Americans are Americans who are of full or partial Ukrainians, Ukrainian ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent representing 0.3% of the American population. The Ukr ...

historian, educator, and public activist. He currently serves as president of the Ukrainian Educational Council, the central organ of Ukrainian Saturday schools in the United States.

Biography

George Gajecky was born in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Along with his parents, he immigrated to Austria in 1944, during the Second World War. In 1950, the family moved to the United States. Gajecky lived in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. During his school years, he actively participated in the cultural life of the Ukrainian diaspora in the US. Particularly, he was a member of Ukrainian Plast and graduated from a school of Ukrainian studies. Gajecky graduated from the

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

in 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts History degree. In 1966, he obtained a Master of Arts degree in history in the

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...

. Gajecky moved on to work in the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

(1967–1978). In 1978, he obtained a Ph.D. in history in the

. Gajecky's scholarly career has been mostly connected with his work in the field of

Ukrainian history The history of Ukraine spans thousands of years, tracing its roots to the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe—one of the key centers of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages, Indo-European migrations, and early domestication of the horse, hors ...

and Ukrainian studies in general. Particularly, he was a senior fellow at the

Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute The Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) is a research institute affiliated with Harvard University devoted to Ukrainian studies, including the history, culture, language, literature, and politics of Ukraine. Other areas of study include s ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(1981–1992). After Ukraine gained independence in the early 1990s, Gajecky worked as a history professor in

National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy The National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA, ), colloquially known as Mohylianka (), is a highly ranked national state-sponsored research university located in a historic section of Kyiv, Ukraine. The university is bilingual in U ...

(1994–1997). Apart from scientific activities, George Gajecky has been engaged in educational work related to schools of Ukrainian studies in the United States. Particularly, he was a principal of the Ukrainian studies school in Chicago (1979–1981) and a history teacher in the Ukrainian studies school "Samopomich" (1997–2004). Since 1986, Gajecky has been teaching history at teacher-training courses organized by the Ukrainian American Educational Council at

Soyuzivka Soyuzivka Heritage Center (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Союзівка), also known as Soyuzivka, Suzi-Q, or the Q, is a Ukraine, Ukrainian cultural center located in the hamlet of Kerhonkson, New York, in Ulster County, New York, Ulster Count ...

, a Ukrainian cultural center in

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. Since the late 1990s–early 2000s, Gajecky has been occupying leadership positions in the Ukrainian Educational Council, serving as a member of the executive board of the Educational Council. Since 2003, he served as deputy president under president Eugene Fedorenko. Upon Fedorenko's retirement in 2016, George Gajecky was elected the next president of the Ukrainian Educational Council. He currently serves in this position as of 2019.

Works

The scholarly interests of George Gajecky's as a historian relate to the history of

Ukrainian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...

and the

Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...

. Besides, he explores the development of

Orthodox brotherhood Brotherhoods ( Ukrainian: братство; literally, "fraternities") were non-monastic organisations of Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic citizens or lay brothers affiliated with individual autocephalous churches. Some of their focus was of ...

s and the history of education, particularly school education, in Ukraine. Some of Gajecky's major works include a two-volume work ''Cossack Administration of the Hetmanate'', a two-volume book ''Cossacks in the Thirty Years War'', contribution to several contemporary history encyclopedias, and around 200 scholarly articles published throughout his scientific career.

References

Bibliography

* G. Gajecky. Cossack Administration of the Hetmanate, 2 volumes, Cambridge, MA, 1978. * G. Gajecky, A. Baran. The Cossacks in the Thirty Years' War, 1619—1624. Vol. 1. Rome, PP. Basiliani, 1969. * G. Gajecky, A. Baran. The Cossacks in the Thirty Years' War, 1625—1648. Vol. 2. Rome, PP. Basiliani, 1983. * Золота книга: 50 років Школи українознавства ОУА «Самопоміч» у Нью-Йорку, 1949—1999. Нью-Йорк, 1999. * Ю. Гаєцький. Новітня історія України. 1945—2001 рр. Нью-Йорк: Вид-во Шкільної Ради УККА, 2002. * Альманах Станіславівської землі: збірник матеріалів до історії Станіславова і Станіславівщини. Том 3. Редактор-упорядник Ю. Гаєцький. Іван-Франківськ, 2009

External links

George Gajecky's works in online library Chtyvo.org,ua
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gajecky, George 1941 births Living people Historians of Ukraine Soviet emigrants to the United States