College started in 1947 near Philadelphia by three Ukrainian nuns wants to forge new links with the old country
JENKINTOWN, Pennsylvania — A college that was started by Ukrainian nuns in 1947 to cater for post-war Ukrainian women refugees has grown into one of the most praised multicultural, coeducational colleges near Philadelphia, a city of 1.6 million people which prides itself on having one of the highest numbers of prestigious educational establishments in the U.S.
The Pennsylvania college in Jenkintown, with just 4,000 residents, is proud that its 750 students now come from all the ethnic backgrounds that make up American society. It strives to maintain a Ukrainian flavor, but the college now only has a handful of students of Ukrainian background, around 10 from Ukraine itself.
However, it wants to increase its ties with Ukraine and would like to attract more students from there, something the college president, Jonathan Peri, believes will enrich the educational experience for both Americans and Ukrainians.
Manor College has its roots in the work of three nuns from the Basilian order of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) who arrived in the U.S. in 1911 and established a full-time elementary school for the children of the many immigrants arriving in the state.
The sisters went on to establish English-language classes and an evening school system for Ukrainian immigrants, a printing and publishing house which produced a newspaper, an orphanage, and a carpet factory.
In the following years, they were instrumental in opening three Ukrainian high schools in New York city, Hamtramck in Michigan, and Fox Chase, Pennsylvania.
Located on a 35-acre campus, it is practically neighbors with a large Ukrainian social center and school that caters for Philadelphia’s substantial Ukrainian community.
The college offers more than 50 courses at pre-degree levels. But because it has performed so well and proved it can teach programs at a high level, the college has been granted the right to award Bachelor degrees in 15 of its subjects including two that the college has developed a reputation for excellence in – dental hygiene and veterinary technology programs.
Other subjects it caters to include accounting, business administration, psychology, criminal justice, law enforcement, liberal studies, computer studies, public policy and healthcare.
The cultural stamp of its Ukrainian founders clearly remains in the college buildings. Walking around the corridors and lecture halls you notice Ukrainian trident symbols and crosses, and prints, paintings and historic photos of Ukrainian-related subjects. The library and bookshelves in classrooms contain books in Ukrainian and the English-language about Ukraine.
Peri, the college’s president since 2015, said because of its “unique identity as America’s only accredited institution of higher education founded by Ukrainian Catholic sisters,” Manor College has a strong sense of obligation to explore recent and ongoing global events about Ukraine as well as an abiding interest in preserving Ukrainian culture.
To that end, the college organizes “dialogues” where members of the local community are invited to learn about topical issues in discussions with experts on Ukraine.
Recent such events have covered Russian aggression in the Kerch Strait, the recognition of Ukraine’s independent Orthodox Church, the Kremlin’s war in eastern Ukraine, and its use of cyber-warfare. Peri said: “We invite all of our community, Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians, anyone who wants to hear about what we have to say on Ukraine. Our guests have included Congresspeople, diplomats, religious leaders, and business executives.”
For more go here.
Askold Krushelnycky
