Ukrainian Fulbright Scholars spending year in College of the Liberal Arts

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two scholars from war-torn Ukraine have found a welcoming temporary home at Penn State, thanks to the Fulbright Scholar Program.

Mariia Grytsenko and Oleksandr Gon, both faculty members at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, were selected by Fulbright to spend the 2025-26 academic year housed in the College of the Liberal Arts’ Department of German and Slavic Languages and Literatures.

Grytsenko, an assistant professor of translation at Taras Shevchenko’s Institute of Philology, is teaching the introductory Ukrainian language sequence and is assisting in the further development of the course UKR100: Ukrainian Culture and Civilization. Gon, professor of translation at Taras Shevchenko’s Institute of International Relations, is conducting research for his project, “Ezra Pound and Yurii Klen: Contexts of Two Modern Unfinished Epics,” which examines Pound’s “The Cantos” (1917–1968) and Klen’s “Popil Imperii” (The Ashes of Empires, 1943–1947).

Yuliya V. Ladygina, associate professor of Slavic and global and international studies, is working closely with both professors, who are among numerous Fulbright awardees hosted by the department over the years.

“We are so fortunate to have Mariia and Oleksandr here and are benefiting tremendously from their presence on campus,” Ladygina said. “Ukraine is in a tough place right now, and it’s amazing scholars there can continue their research and teaching under such conditions. At this point, doing scholarship is not only a professional act but also a symbol of resistance and an opportunity to share information about Ukraine.”

Grytsenko said she’s found the University to be “truly an open and friendly multicultural community,” as well as a respite from the horrors of Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia.

“We are enjoying tremendous support,” said Grytsenko, who in addition to her academic responsibilities is co-advising the Ukrainian Student Society and helping to coordinate a variety of extracurricular and outreach initiatives.

“Everyone here has been absolutely fantastic,” Gon added. “I am the happiest man and scholar in the world. I am so thankful for the chance to have a peaceful, meaningful scholarly life. I consider it a stroke of luck.”

Grytsenko specializes in English–Ukrainian and Ukrainian–English translation and regularly teaches courses that integrate theoretical approaches with applied practice in the field of translation studies. She is the co-author of three textbooks and has written multiple articles on translation and interpreting, and has extensive professional experience as an interpreter, having collaborated with major international cultural institutions such as the DocuDays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival and the Odessa International Film Festival.

Gon’s scholarly interests include comparative literature, translation politics and the intermedial study of narrative in both fiction and music. He has co-authored five textbooks on English–Ukrainian translation and is the author of two monographs, “Swinburne’s Poetry in the Context of Fin de Siècle” (1996) and “Paradigmatics of the Lyric and Epic in Ezra Pound’s Cantos” (2017).

Gon’s initial contact with Penn State was back in 2021, when he reached out to Ladygina and Michael M. Naydan, Woskob Family Professor of Ukrainian Studies and professor of Slavic languages and literatures, to ask if they’d be interested in hosting his research project after it had been approved for a Fulbright.

“We were very much interested in his project,” Ladygina said. “We wrote the letters of support, everything was good to go, he was going through his final interviews with Fulbright, and then … a full-scale invasion happened in Ukraine.”

Upon the Russian invasion in early 2022, Gon and any Ukrainian male under the age of 60 were prohibited from leaving the country due to possible military conscription. With that, his Fulbright fellowship went on the backburner.

Last year, he turned 60 and finally got the greenlight to travel. Before leaving, though, he sought and received permission from his younger brother, who is serving on the frontlines of battle for the Ukrainian military.

“What Yuliya has done for me, it blows my mind,” Gon said. “When I arrived she found me and my wife a place to stay. She has taken care of so many details, and is so kind and generous. The only thing I have to do now is my research in the library. It’s been flawless.”

Indeed, the University has made for a refreshingly stress-free academic environment for Gon and Grytsenko, who spent the previous couple years continuing their teaching and research activities at Taras Shevchenko while Russian missiles rained down on Kyiv. During that time, several of the university’s buildings were bombed.

“Every time there is an air raid alarm, we go to the shelter and we continue our classes,” Grytsenko said. “It gives you the motivation to continue and to persevere. You don’t realize how fragile things are. Then you come here and everything is running so smoothly, and you understand how blessed people are when there is no war.”

Several of Gon and Grytsenko’s former students are serving in combat, with one of Gon’s recently killed in action. In addition, some of Gon’s other former students are serving in the upper ranks of Ukraine’s diplomatic service.

Grytsenko said she often finds herself stopping at a wall on campus that honors students who have died in the war.

“When I see the names and faces of those kids, who are doing something that not everyone has the courage to do, that gives you more of an appreciation of the time you spend with young people, because you never know,” she said.

For now, the professors are relishing their time at Penn State. They’ve quickly made friends with the local Ukrainian community, and have spent their free time attending lectures, film festivals and other events. In the fall, Naydan took Gon to his first American football game at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium.

Gon said he still can’t get over the first-class resources available to him in Pattee and Paterno libraries.

“In our library in Ukraine, borrowing a book isn’t allowed under any condition. Here, it is a model of democracy,” he said. “I don’t grow tired of being fascinated with the libraries here. Circling around the stacks, you feel that sense of awe. It’s an amazing institution in itself, the American library. It’s this whole world. It’s very exciting for a scholar to be here and have all this knowledge at your fingers.”

Grytsenko, meanwhile, is thoroughly enjoying working with her students, noting how motivated they are to learn the Ukrainian language.

“You’re opening young minds and showing them that the world doesn’t have to stay the way it is,” she said. “This is where you truly feel that you are alive. And it gives you hope for the future. That’s what I love about teaching.”

It leaves her with a lot of gratitude for her Fulbright experience.

“All I can say is thank you, from the bottom of my heart,” Grytsenko said. “My story is not unique. My story is that of millions of Ukrainians. All our stories are so similar that one voice becomes the representation of many voices.”

Gon echoed that sentiment.

“Coming here from a war-torn country, the feeling that never leaves you is that I’m here, and my brother is on the front lines fighting and showing the greatest resilience that post-war Europe has seen,” he said. “It makes you realize you’re responsible for doing good work while you’re here.”