Participants of the Purdue Ukraine Scholars Initiative to be featured in panel discussion

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A panel discussion with David A. Reingold, senior vice president for policy planning and the Justin S. Morrill Dean of Liberal Arts, at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, will feature four participants in the Purdue Ukraine Scholars Initiative. 

The hourlong event, which is free and open to the public, will be at the Nancy T. Hansen Theatre in Purdue’s Yue-Kong Pao Hall. Purdue President Mung Chiang will welcome guests and introduce moderator Reingold. The discussion will include a brief overview of the Purdue Ukraine Scholars Initiative, which was created after Russia’s invasion of the Eastern European country Feb. 24, 2022.

Purdue’s program, launched March 25, 2022, is one of the first, largest and most ambitious of any such university-led program in the United States. 

On Feb. 22, 2023, the Indianapolis-based Heritage Group issued a $270,000 grant to support nine Ukrainian scholars, extending the opportunity for them to continue their academic pursuits here until May 2024.

Panelists from the Ukraine Scholars Initiative set to join Reingold are: 

• Illia Kuznietsov, an associate professor of neuroscience, who teaches in Purdue’s Department of Psychological Sciencesin the College of Health and Human Sciences.
• Zarema Mustafaieva, a visiting scholar who is continuing her studies in media through communication in Purdue’s Brian Lamb School of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts.
• Zera Mustafaieva, a visiting scholar who is continuing her studies in media through communication in Purdue’s Brian Lamb School of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts.
• Kostiantyn Kondratiuk, a visiting scholar in biomedical engineering through Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering.

“I am looking forward to this panel, a stark reminder that we cannot take our liberties for granted,” Chiang said. “When President Daniels launched the Ukraine Scholars Initiative in March 2022, Purdue continued our distinct tradition of welcoming those scholars and students seeking refuge from tyranny and a home for liberty. We hope the Ukraine scholars in our community can return to safety and freedom in Ukraine one day soon. In the meantime, we reaffirm our commitment to this initiative on a campus for the free minds.”

Purdue launched its Ukraine Scholars Initiative in an effort to help faculty and PhD students whose academic pursuits have been derailed by the conflict. This year, Purdue hosts 18 scholars, who are continuing their research here.

The scholars’ impressive work stretches across a diversity of disciplines — from chemistry, communication, history, business, computational cognitive neuroscience and biomedical engineering to agriculture, botany and plant pathology, art history, and curriculum and instruction.

The United Nations estimates there have been nearly 25,170 Ukrainian casualties since the start of the war, with children accounting for more than 1,700 of deaths and injuries. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that more than 5.1 million Ukrainians have fled their homes and are internally displaced, while more than 6.2 million have fled to neighboring countries.