Donetsk National University

Donetsk National University
Донецький національний університет Донецкий национальный университет
Established	1937
Type	National university
Rector	Roman Grynyuk (Professor; DonNU Rector since November 2012)
Location	Donetsk, Ukraine
Website	www.donnu.edu.ua

Donetsk National University (DonNU) (Russian: Донецкий национальный университет Ukrainian: Донецький національний університет, Donets’kyi Natsional’nyi Universytet) is the leading higher educational institution in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The University's history starts in 1937 from the moment of creation of a pedagogical institute in Donetsk (then Stalino). In 1965, the Institute was transformed into Donetsk State University. It was accorded the National status in 2000.

History

On July 15, 1937, a State Pedagogical Institute was established in the city of Stalino (Donetsk) by decree from Ukrainian SSR. Its first director was Olekasandr Yevdokymenko, who was arrested in 1938 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment during the Joseph Stalin's Great Purge. Originally the institute consisted of two departments, of History and of Philology, and five chairs.

From 1940 to 1961 the Institute was led by Serhiy Ksenofotnov and from 1961 by Mykola Khoroshailov. In 1964 Institute was subordinated to Kharkiv State University and became a Donetsk branch of Kharkiv State University named after Maksim Gorky.

On May 28, 1965 the Soviet of Ministers of the USSR enacted a Decree on organising Donetsk State University (DonSU) based on Donetsk branch of Kharkiv State University. Professor Leonid Lytvynenko became the first rector of the University (1965–1968).

In 1965 post-graduate studies were launched at the University with only 16 students at first. This was the year when faculties of biology and physics as well as students' campus were built.

Professor Yuriy Shevlyakov was appointed the second rector of the University, who managed the institution from 1968 to 1970. In this period the main 12-storey building was constructed. Professor Hryhoriy Tymoshenko was the third University rector (1970–1975). In 1972 a Museum of University's history was opened in the main building.

Professor Hryhoriy Ponomarenko was the rector from 1975 till 1986. Since 1986 the University has been managed by the Professor Volodymyr Shevchenko. On September 11, 2000 by the Decree of the President of Ukraine L. Kuchma the University was accorded the national status.

Infrastructure

Donetsk National University unites training, research and industrial centers forming a complex that includes: 12 Departments; 33 Specialties; Mariupol Humanitarian Institute; Donetsk Interior Institute; Donetsk Humanitarian Institute; 3 Technical Colleges; first in Ukraine Lyceum with Ukrainian as a training language; 6 regional Training and Retraining Centers; 3 Educational-Research-Industrial Complexes; 8 Training Complexes; 5 Departments and Advanced Training Centers; the UNESCO Department for Ecology in the Technogenous Region; Business Centre; Centre for Political Studies; Youth Centre for Legal Studies; the Laboratory for International Scientific and Technical Cooperation; Consulting Centres of the British, German and French Councils; Postgraduate Courses and Doctoral Studies.

Renaming the university disputes

In December 2008 a group of current and former students of the university published an appeal asking that the university be named after one of its graduates, Vasyl Stus. The letter to Minister of Education Ivan Vakarchuk^[1] was signed by more than 500 people, including the poet’s son Dmytro Stus. The Minister supported the initiative and approached the Rector of the university with a request to discuss the issue among staff and at the academic council.^[2] On 5 February 2009 National Deputy Olena Bondarenko presented a new initiative: to name the university after Volodomyr Degtyaryov, the First Secretary of the Donetsk Regional Party Committee from 1963 to 1976. The initiative was endorsed by some other National Deputies, including the leader of the Party of the Regions Viktor Yanukovych, Mykola Azarov and others.^[2] On February 17, 2009 62 out of 63 members of the university's "Scientific council" voted against renaming the university to Vasyl Stus or Volodomyr Degtyaryov (61 voted against this), 63 voted for not changing the name of the institute. Earlier (February 13, 2009) representatives of the university's students voted in exact the same fashion.^[3]

Notes and references

This article incorporates text from "History of the University" at the Official Web Site of the University, whose republication is expressely allowed if referenced to www.donnu.edu.ua.

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