The Inauguration of the New Rector, Eduard Balashov, Took Place at Ostroh Academy

December 05, 2024

On this historic day of December 5, the National University of Ostroh Academy inaugurated the newly elected Rector of the university, Doctor of Science (Psychology), Full professor Eduard Balashov, marking a significant chapter in the annals of our esteemed institution.

At the beginning of the event, all the attendees paid tribute to the memory of the fallen soldiers, including the lecturers, the staff and the students of Ostroh Academy, by keeping a minute of silence. The heroes who paid the ultimate price for the independence and freedom of our country will forever remain in our hearts. We are sincerely grateful to the defenders for the opportunity to study, continue to expand our knowledge and build the future of Ukraine. 

Ruslana Kalamazh, Doctor of Science (Psychology), Vice-Rector for Education and Full professor, delivered the opening speech:

'For 30 years, the revived Ostroh Academy has gone from an almost unknown Ostroh College to a national university highly recognised in Ukraine and abroad. During all these years of the revival of the university, the development of a powerful material and technical base, the formation of highly qualified teaching staff, scientific potential, high educational and spiritual image and mission of the university, it was headed by the Rector Ihor Demydovych Pasichnyk. Thanks to his leadership talent and outstanding personality, the most valuable thing was done - the formation of an effective community of like-minded people, colleagues, students, friends and philanthropists of Ostroh Academy.'

The President and a Founding Rector of Ostroh Academy, Doctor of Psychology, Full Professor Ihor Pasichnyk, presented Eduard Balashov's life path from the beginning of his studies at the university in the 1990s to becoming the Rector of the National University of Ostroh Academy.

'I desire our inauguration to be held in a bright mood and with the idea that we are creating the future of Ukraine. The younger generation, the elite of the Ukrainian people, is being educated within the walls of Ostroh Academy under the administration of the new rector, Eduard Balashov',

Ihor Pasichnyk held the grand inauguration ceremony for the Rector, Eduard Balashov. Putting his hand on the Ostroh Bible, Eduard Balashov gave the Rector's promise. It was followed by a ceremony of putting on the rector's gown and handing over the principal rector's attributes: a silver and gold ring with the Ostroh Academy emblem and a silver and amber cartouche, which symbolise the responsibility and duty assumed by the Rector towards the academic community and the Ukrainian state.

'Standing before you today, I feel incredibly responsible, profoundly grateful and honoured to lead our native Ostroh Academy. This moment for me is a new page in my professional career and a personal duty to each of you, to the academy's traditions and the future we will create together.

Ostroh Academy is not just an educational institution. It is a living organism driven by the thirst for knowledge and love for the truth. Our university has gone through the centuries, preserving its identity and the cultural code of the nation, remaining a beacon of education and spirituality.

I express my special gratitude to my teacher and mentor, Ihor Demydovych Pasichnyk. Your wisdom inspired us to seek the truth, your foresight taught us to see the prospects, and your compassion left an indelible mark on our hearts. You showed me that education is about knowledge, shaping characters, the courage to dream, and the responsibility to act. Thank you for your love for the academy, your faith in its greatness, and the fact that every student enters the world with a wealth of knowledge and high moral values. This gratitude is not just words for me. I promise to continue your legacy as your student and the current rector. I will persist to inspire, support, and, with the entire academic community, create a future worthy of the high ideals you have always preached. 

Our academy has always been and will remain a place where everyone - regardless of their background, views or life path - can feel like a part of a big family. Our mission is to educate professionals and shape the minds of citizens who will take responsibility for the country's future.

Ostroh Academy has always been and will remain integral to Ukraine's intellectual, spiritual and cultural heritage. In these challenging times, we must remember that education is not only knowledge but also the cornerstone of our national identity, our weapon in fighting for a bright, free, independent future. Let us create a future that will inspire new generations of students and serve as an example for others.',

Among the honoured guests of the event, there was Mykola Zhulynskyi, the Director of Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature, Doctor of Science (Philology), Full professor, Full Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the NaUOA, Academician of Ostroh Academic Brotherhood, Honorary Doctor of the NaUOA; Roman Vasylyshyn, a long-serving protector of the National University of Ostroh Academy, Secretary of the Supervisory Board of the National University of Ostroh Academy, Academician of Ostroh Academic Brotherhood; Mykola Shershun, a member of the Supervisory Board of the NaUOA, Academician of Ostroh Academic Brotherhood, Member of Parliament of Ukraine of the 1st, 4th and 6th convocations, Head of Rivne Regional Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine.

'In 1576, Prince Vasyl-Kostiantyn Ostrozkyi founded an academy in his capital city of Ostroh, thus laying the foundations for quality university education in Ukrainian lands and beyond. For all of us, there is another historical figure in the university's destiny – this is the first rector of the revived Ostroh Academy, Ihor Demydovych Pasichnyk. I am certain that you, Eduard Mykhailovych, and the President of Ostroh Academy, Ihor Demydovych, will continue to work fruitfully in your new position as a rector. I believe this cooperation will be essential and useful for our academy and higher education in Ukraine.'

Mr Zhulynskyi emphasised that one of the most important events to be organised is the celebration of the 450th anniversary of the foundation of Ostroh Academy. This event should not only be national but also European to raise the status of the university at the state level so that Ostroh Academy is under the patronage of the President of Ukraine and has the targeted funding independent of the allocation made by the Ministry of Education and Science.

'We need to celebrate this anniversary in a way that the entire Ukraine and Europe can feel that thanks to the efforts of such patriots as Vasyl-Kostiantyn Ostrozkyi and Halshka Ostrozka, Ostroh Academy was founded, which made a certain revolution in the souls and thoughts of that generation and thanks to which the formation of a new Ukrainian national conscious elite began,'

Roman Vasylyshyn and Mykola Shershun also delivered welcoming remarks. They wished the rector of Ostroh Academy, Eduard Balashov, every success in his new position to preserve and expand the university's heritage and to continue the work Ihor Demydovych started.

Another pleasant surprise of the event was the expression of personal gratitude from the President of the University, Ihor Pasichnyk, to people who played an important role in the life of Ostroh Academy - Roman Vasylyshyn and Mykola Shershun, who started the process of reviving the university together with Ihor Demydovych thirty years ago and contributed significantly to the revival and development of the National University of Ostroh Academy.

The Student Brotherhood Chair, Yehor Popov, thanked Ihor Demydovych for his invaluable contribution to the development of Ostroh Academy on behalf of the student community and wished Eduard Mykhailovych inspiration and success in all his endeavours as the Rector of the university. 

Inna Kovalchuk, the Educational and Research Institute of Linguistics Director, Cand. Sc. (Psychology) and Associate Professor addressed the audience on behalf of the directors of the Educational and Scientific Institutes of Socio-Humanitarian Management, International Relations and National Security, Law by I. Malynovskyi, Linguistics and the Dean of the Faculty of Economics. She emphasised that the university staff is ready to keep building the future of Ostroh Academy together as one team, preserving the traditions.

A pastor of the Academic Church of St. Fedir Ostrozkyi, Doctor of Science (Pedagogics) and Full professor Vasyl Zhukovskyi thanked Ihor Demydovych for his great experience and joint educational paths and wished Eduard Mykhailovych to continue the dedicated, wise and sacrificial work of his glorious predecessors at the head of the academic institution, which had, has and will always have a grand historical mission - to bring the heavenly wisdom of the Holy Scripture to the past, present and future generations.