William and Helen Petrach Endowment for Ukrainian Studies

The William and Helen Petrach Endowment has been the bedrock resource for IERES’ Program on Ukraine.  Today, the Petrach Endowment supports Ukraine-focused scholars and activities, such as our Petrach Ukrainian Studies Fellowship.

William Petrach was born in Dobrotvir, Poland (now Ukraine) and served successively in the Polish, Soviet and Czech armies against the Germans in World War II. He twice escaped from German prisoner-of-war camps and was also imprisoned in the Soviet Gulag for three years. Mr. Petrach graduated from L’viv State University in 1939 and taught as an assistant professor from 1945-1948 at Bacumov College in Czechoslovakia. He moved to Canada in 1948, and met his future wife, Helen, while visiting relatives in the United States. While Helen worked as a librarian at the Library of New York Academy of Medicine, Mr. Petrach obtained a position with the National Security Agency as an instructor of advanced Slavic languages. On retirement he received a medal citing his “outstanding” and “dedicated service to the Government of the United States, 1965-1993.” After Helen’s retirement, she took an interest in the stock market and was very successful. Mr. Petrach created “The William and Helen Petrach Endowment for Ukrainian Exchanges and Programs” at the George Washington University in her memory.

You can learn more about IERES’ Program on Ukraine and our current Ukrainian studies initiatives here.