Huculak Chair of Ukrainian Culture and Ethnography

The Huculak Chair is an endowed professorial position at the University of Alberta. Dr. Andriy Nahachewsky occupies the chair and thus conducts research, undertakes projects and teaches courses in the Ukrainian Folklore Program.

The Huculak Chair is the first endowed chair in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta. The establishment of the Huculak Chair was made possible by a major donation from Erast and Lydia Huculak as well as other donors. The Huculaks had responded to a fundraising drive for the Ukrainian ethnography program in what was then the Department of Slavic and East European Studies. Because of the size of their donation, made in 1987, the central endowment of the Chair was named after them. At that time, gifts to the Ukrainian Folklore Program were matched on a 2:1 basis by the Government of Alberta. The Chair was officially opened and celebrated at the University of Alberta on September 19, 1989. Today, the combined endowments in Ukrainian ethnography have a market value of over $2.4 million.

Official Chair Opening Sept 19, 1989

The Huculak Chair has established a unique niche in Ukrainian studies worldwide because it is perfectly positioned to act as a bridge linking Ukrainian and Western scholarship. Western scholars benefit when the Chair's projects give increased access to the wealth of ethnographic resources accumulated by Ukrainian scholars. Ukrainian scholars benefit from western ideas and methods. Apart from being able to provide financial and organizational support for Ukrainian ethnographic projects that could not otherwise be undertaken in Ukraine, the Huculak Chair also encourages study of the vibrant Ukrainian-Canadian culture that has evolved in Canada over the past 100 years.

The solidity of the program stems from the support of the community, the University of Alberta, and the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Studies. Its foundation rests on three substantial endowments: the Ukrainain Folklore Program Development Fund (which includes a Huculak Chair itself), the Kuryliw Scholarship Endowment, and the Ukrainian Folklore Archive Endowment.

Through the efforts of its staff and the generosity of its donors and sponsors, the Huculak Chair will continue to participate in an ever-widening range of activities.

Erast and Lydia Huculak

Born in Ukraine, Erast came to Canada in 1948. He completed high school in Vancouver, then attended the University of British Columbia. Erast graduated in 1955 with a degree in pharmacy. Shortly after graduation he and his wife Lydia moved to eastern Canada. He started his first pharmacy in Oshawa in 1957. This first establishment grew into a chain of 18 pharmacy and medical supply stores. Erast and Lydia had three children. Lydia passed away in 1996. Erast continues to be active in numerous Ukrainian organizations and various charitable institutions. The Huculaks stated that they see this contribution to Ukrainian studies as a means of thanking Canada for enabling them to live as free people, while at the same time supporting the culture of the Ukrainian nation.