Taras Hunczak ( uk, Тарас Гунчак; born on March 13, 1932, in Staremiasto, near
Tarnopol
Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, now
Ternopil Oblast
Ternopil Oblast ( uk, Тернопі́льська о́бласть, translit=Ternopilska oblast; also referred to as Ternopilshchyna, uk, Терно́пільщина, label=none, or Ternopillia, uk, Тернопілля, label=none) is an obl ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
) is a historian, and
professor emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.East-European history. Hunczak has written extensively on Ukrainian history, the twentieth century in particular. He has also had involvement with the United Nations, notably moderating a discussion panel at an event marking the 20th anniversary of the
fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...
.
Education
Hunczak earned his B.A. (1955) and M.A. (1958) from Fordham University in
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. In 1965, he earned his Ph.D. at the Vienna University. He received an honorary doctorate from the
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. The ...
in 2013.
Career
Hunczak began lecturing at Rutgers University in 1960 and retired after a notable 44-year career with the institution. He also served as Chairman of the History Department and was a member of the Rutgers University Senate between 1960 and 1984.
During his career he established and coordinated the men’s volleyball program at Rutgers-Newark in 1975. Established as a club team, which through his leadership shortly became a Division I Varsity Team. His team won the East Coast Championship and placed second in the NAIA National Championship in 1976.
Because of Hunczak’s incredible accomplishments as a team coach, Rutgers gained both national and international recognition. They were invited to play an invitational tournament in Holland.
Taras Hunczak developed a successful Women’s Team in 1977, which also became a Varsity team within a short period of time.
Taras, who coached and coordinated both teams, served as the United States Volleyball Commissioner of the Garden-Empire Region in New York and New Jersey from 1978 to 1980. He also served as the New Jersey vice-chairman of the National Junior Olympics of the AAU.
Hunczak became Professor Emeritus in 2004 and was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Fame the same year for his numerous accomplishments.
From 1991, Hunczak has been a professor at the
National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv
Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...
. In 2013, he received an honorary doctorate from the
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. The ...
.
Hunczak is currently retired with his wife, Olga Hunczak.
Publications
Hunczak's publications in English include:
* ''Russian Imperialism from Ivan the Great to the Revolution'';
* ''The Ukraine, 1917-1921: A Study in Revolution'';
* ''On the Horns of a Dilemma: The Story of the Ukrainian Division Halychyna'';
* ''
Symon Petliura
Symon Vasylyovych Petliura ( uk, Си́мон Васи́льович Петлю́ра; – May 25, 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He became the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Army and the President of the Ukrainian Peop ...
and the Jews: A reappraisal (Ukrainian Jewish studies)'';
* ''Ukraine: The Challenges of World War II''
Hunczak's publications in Ukrainian include:
* ''Ukraina—persha polovyna XX stolittia: Narysy politychnoi istorii'';
* ''Symon Petliura ta ievrei'';
* ''U mundyrakh voroha''