Kyiv-Mohyla Academy celebrates its 409th Year
Since its founding in 1615, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy has navigated countless historical trials, steadfastly upholding the values of freedom, enlightenment, human rights, innovation, and Ukrainian identity. Its leaders, faculty, students, and alumni have been and remain catalysts of change, intellectual advancement, and civic responsibility. Reborn in 1991 from the suppression of Soviet rule, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy led national reform efforts, shaping a new generation of conscious and engaged citizens.
We are proud of the Kyiv-Mohyla community and its enduring influence on Ukraine’s development, particularly now amidst Russia’s war on Ukraine. Our Kyiv-Mohyla graduates – the KMA Family – span the globe in science, politics, business, technology, culture, and military fields, driving positive change worldwide, ready to meet global challenges, and steadfast in defense of Ukraine.
Please help Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation, USA continue its mission
Kyiv-Mohyla School of Law recently celebrated its 28th anniversary
Kyiv-Mohyla School of Law recently celebrated its 28th anniversary. Since its founding, KM School of Law has been cultivating generations of lawyers who are shaping the fields of jurisprudence, public administration, human rights, academia, and fostering international partnerships.
Every year, numerous students receive an exceptional legal education from a distinguished faculty of national and international experts. These graduates bring their expertise to society, upholding the rule of law as a cornerstone of democracy.
We are grateful to our friends and partners in the United States for their steadfast support, which empowers our students and faculty to achieve the highest standards. For several years, the KMA School of Law has held the No. 1 ranking in Ukraine. Under the leadership of Dean Volodymyr Venher, Kyiv-Mohyla legal scholars publish in leading peer-reviewed journals, represent Ukraine in international tribunals, excel in national and international Moot Court competitions, and serve as consultants on national legislation and within ministries.
Judge Bohdan Futey is awarded the Petro Mohyla Medal of Honor
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Bohdan Futey, Retired Judge of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, on receiving Kyiv-Mohyla Academy’s highest honor, the Medal of St. Petro Mohyla. Judge Futey, who previously received an Honorary Doctorate from the Academy and served as a guest professor in the Faculty of Law, has been an invaluable supporter since the university’s early days and played a pivotal role in establishing the School of Law.
In 2020, the Futey Family Scholarship was created to support talented students in the law program. We congratulate this year’s scholarship recipients: Yurii Klius, fourth-year undergraduate; Iryna Liashchuk, first-year master’s student; and Roman Kobelnyk, third-year undergraduate.
The generosity of our donors is vital to the Law School’s continued success.
The Synenky-Traversa Family Scholarship Fund
The Synenky-Traversa Family Scholarship Endowment Fund for a named Professorship was established in 2016 by Ms. Halyna Traversa in honor of her parents, to support academic research that advances civil society and democracy in Ukraine. Annual dividends from this endowment provide fellowships for the Faculty of Law at NaUKMA, with Ms. Traversa further contributing funds to meet needs arising from the ongoing war.
We are pleased to congratulate Roman Petrov, Doctor of Law and Professor at the Department of International and European Law, as this year’s recipient of the Synenky-Traversa Scholarship.
Halyna Traversa, an attorney and former General Counsel of Rexam Beverage Can Americas, previously served as Senior International Counsel at Abbott Laboratories and Motorola, focusing on international business, including cross-border ventures in Ukraine. A board member of Friends of Chernobyl Centers, U.S., she has organized medical aid shipments to a hospital near the Chernobyl Zone. An active member of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, she curated the first Holodomor exhibit at a North American Holocaust Museum in 2019. Ms. Traversa remains a dedicated supporter of organizations and initiatives that benefit Ukraine.
Kyiv Mohyla at Harvard
Dr. Myroslava Antonovych, Associate Professor in the Department of International and European Law and Director of the Kyiv-Mohyla Center for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (CGHRS), recently presented her research, "Genocide in Peace and War: Kremlin’s Genocides Against Ukrainians Over the Last 100 Years," at Harvard University’s Davis Center, where she serves as a Visiting Scholar.
In her presentation, Dr. Antonovych highlighted the challenges in bringing genocide cases to court. She explained that proving the legal intent to commit genocide, as required by the UN Genocide Convention, demands a high standard of evidence—proof beyond a reasonable doubt. She noted that during wartime, genocide often overlaps with war crimes and crimes against humanity, which are more straightforward to prove in court. For instance, despite the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia—a clear genocidal act—the international arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova were issued on the grounds of war crimes rather than genocide due to evidentiary challenges.
The National University of "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" has joined the Arqus European University Alliance as an associate member, partnering with nine major research universities from Granada, Graz, Leipzig, Lyon 1, Maynooth, Minho, Padua, Vilnius, and Wrocław, each deeply connected to its region. Through this collaboration and the Arqus for Ukraine project—administered by the University of Wrocław—Kyiv-Mohyla faculty and staff have participated in week-long visits to partner universities.
Funded by Poland's NAWA (National Agency for Academic Exchange) and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Arqus for Ukraine program recently hosted representatives from universities in Kyiv, Lviv, and Chernivtsi, including Hanna Khrobolova from Kyiv-Mohyla's School of Law and Anastasiia Petrus from the Faculty of Humanities.
Scholars from the Mohyla School of Journalism represented Ukraine at the European Communication Conference hosted by ECREA at the University of Ljubljana, participating in five events.
Victoria Romaniuk, Director of the School, along with lecturers Daria Taradai and Daria Orlova, joined a roundtable on “War and Journalism: Epistemologies, Loyalty, Allegiance.” The team also presented their research in a special session titled “From Destruction to Recovery and Resilience? The Experience of Journalists and Media Scholars in Ukraine during Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion,” where they discussed the state of Ukrainian journalism in the third year of the war and urged continued international support for Ukraine.
Thank you for helping Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation, USA continue its mission