Larisa Hayduk is the Director of the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre (URDC) at MacEwan University. She is passionate about innovative approaches to connecting people in meaningful and respectful ways. An educator originally from central Ukraine, Larisa keeps close ties with Ukraine on a personal, volunteer, and professional level. Larisa has been serving on the Board of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress-Alberta Provincial Council (UCC-APC) since 2014. Engaged in various academic and community activities, she particularly values a collaborative project with Help Us Help, wherein she brings MacEwan students to Ukraine to volunteer at a summer camp for children.
Making connections, lifting people up, supporting and providing opportunities – this is what give Larisa inspiration. At a time when the world of so many has crashed, and hearts are bleeding for over 210 days, we find strength and courage to support those who need us, to volunteer when we are called upon, to lead, and to do so with kindness and humility.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, MacEwan’s URDC has become a hub for students, faculty, and staff to provide information, develop resources, and keep our communities engaged and focused on Ukraine.
For 35 years, URDC has developed and carried out provincial, national, and international educational and community projects, connecting Canadian and Ukrainian academics and practitioners. As Director of URDC, Larisa brings together passionate individuals from across MacEwan to lead and support numerous initiatives. This includes weekly campus forums, work with various stakeholders, resource development, joint online course developments, and research studies with Ukrainian partners. URDC supported the participation of Ukrainian students in the world’s largest Model UN simulation in New York. This brought voices of Ukrainian resilience to the 4,000-student conference. MacEwan is sponsoring students from partner universities by covering their tuition and accommodation. Thanks to a generous donation from the Ukrainian Foundation for College Education, URDC is offering financial bursaries to twenty students from Ukraine. URDC will also bring Visiting Scholars to MacEwan.
Responsive to urgent needs, URDC brought together MacEwan and community educators to offer free English classes and also donated 45+ computers to the Ukrainian Canadian Social Services. When the need for resources for newcomers became apparent, URDC provided support to UCC-APC and developed the Ukrainian English Language Guide.
URDC’s mission is to keep attention on the war and the suffering inflicted on the Ukrainian people. Cultural and art events – such as the Be Brave Like Ukraine poster exhibit, Give Me Tomorrow video art installation, and Ukrainian Food and Identity activities – continue to engage MacEwan and the wider community. Flying the Ukrainian flag at MacEwan and walking to the Legislature on September 7 are acts of solidarity with Ukraine and URDC’s way of celebrating the Ukrainian Canadian Heritage Day.
Notably, MacEwan’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications donated over $10,000 for humanitarian aid for Ukraine. URDC will also mark its 35th anniversary with a special announcement and the Ukraine fundraising concert by John Stetch. It is about WHAT and HOW we work: with dignity, with respect and humility. It is never a one-person job. It is always a team of passionate caring individuals who make incredible things happen.
