Igor Tsependa

Date and place of birth: October 18, 1964, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
Position: Rector of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University

Education:

1986 – graduated with honor from Vasyl Stefanyk State Pedagogical University, Faculty of History.

Since 1990 till 1993 – post-graduate student at the Chair of Politology of M.Gorkiy Kyiv State Pedagogical Institute and at the Chair of History of Ukraine of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian University.

1993 – defended Ph.D. theses at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv State University on the subject “Ukrainian national education in Western Ukraine. 1919-1939 (political aspect)”.

1999-2002 – working for doctor’s degree at the Institute of Political and Ethno-national Researches of Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences.

2009 – Doctor of Political Science: doctoral theses on the subject “Ukrainian and Polish ethno-political relations in 40-50-th of the XX century”.

Work Experience: He began his career in 1988 as a senior laboratory assistant and teaching instructor at the Department of History of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the USSR) and of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (the USSR) at Vasyl Stefanyk State Pedagogical Institute.

1993-1996 – Teaching Instructor, Associate Professor at the Department of History of Ukraine, Deputy Dean of Law faculty at Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian University.

1996-1999 – in the diplomatic service at the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Poland: the second and then the first secretary.

1999-2002 – the member of International scientific seminars “Ukraine-Poland: difficult questions”.

2002-2006 – the first secretary, the counselor of political questions, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Poland.
2006 – Vice-rector on international relations of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University.

2011 – Professor at the Department of International Relations.

April 20, 2012 – Rector of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University.

In 2002, he was withdrawn from the doctoral program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in connection with the sending of a long-term diplomatic mission to the Republic of Poland, in which he served until 2006 as First Secretary, Political Advisor, Charge d’Affaires of Ukraine in the Republic of Poland. Participated in the negotiation process to commemorate the places of Ukrainian-Polish memory and prepare a declaration on reconciliation on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Volyn tragedy.

By decision of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, our rector was elected a member of the Scientific Council of the journal Acta Baltico-Slavica for the years 2023-2026.

Awards and honors:

  • Diploma of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “For services to the Ukrainian people” (2010);
  • Honorary distinction of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland “Bene Merito”;
  • Academician Petro Tronko Award Winner of National Association of сinematographers of Ukraine (NACU) (2014);
  • Jubilee medal on the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Blessed Martyr Hryhoriy Khomishin (2017);
  • Medal of the Cyril and Methodius Center for the Eastern Europe at the Maria Sklodowska-Curie University in Lublin, (Republic of Poland, 2017);
  • Honorary title “Honored for the State Higher Vocational School in GorzówWielkopolski”, Gorzów Wielkopolski (Republic of Poland);
  • Honorary Consul of the Stanisław Stashitsa Mining and Metallurgical Academy in Krakow (Republic of Poland);
  • Anniversary medal of the 200th anniversary of the University of Warsaw (2018);
  • Medal of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine Hryhoriy Skovoroda (2018);
  • Winner of the XII Europe-Ukraine Forum Award (2019, Rzeszow, Republic of Poland);
  • Badge of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine “For scientific and educational achievements (2019);
  • First Tourism Award Winner in Ivano-Frankivsk region ‘IFTA’2019’ (2019)
  • Dmytro Yavornytsky Award Winner of National Association of сinematographers of Ukraine (NACU) (2020)
  • Les Martovych Award Winner (2021)

Social and public activities:

  • Presidential Advisory Council for the assistance in development of the general secondary education system in Ukraine;
  • Vice-President of the Volleyball Federation of Ukraine;
  • Member of the Ukrainian-Polish Partnership Forum at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine;
  • President of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Branch of the Small Academy of Sciences of Ukraine;
  • Board Chair of Public Organization “Ukrainian Research and Social Consortium”;
  • Full member of the Ukrainian Academy of Political Sciences;
  • Member of the Scientific Council of the interdisciplinary journal “Acta Baltico-Slavica” of theInstitute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences;
  • Member of the Board of Collective Members of the Law Journal Law of Ukraine;
  • Member of the Advisory Committee of the SNPA project Support of nature reserves in Ukraine;
  • Chairman of the Board of the Sports Student Union in Ivano-Frankivsk region;
  • Head of the Badminton Federation of Ukraine in Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Scientific publications:
The author of over 70 scientific publications devoted to the history of Ukrainian-Polish relations in the twentieth century and modern bilateral relations of Ukraine and Poland.

Research interests:
Among the scientific interests are the problems of the Ukrainian-Polish confrontation during the Second World War, the deportation of the Ukrainian and Polish population in the context of the Soviet geopolitical interests of the postwar European order, as well as the deportation of Polish citizens of Ukrainian origin within the framework of Operation “Wisla”.

Married, brings up two sons and a daughter.