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ADA – Dr. Mara Sukholutskaya, East Central University’s Global Education Director, has received an award that is near and dear to her heart.

Sukholutskaya was recently awarded the title of honorary doctor of two cooperating universities – the M.P. Dragomanov National Pedagogical University (Kiev, Ukraine) and the Ukrainian-American Liberal Arts Institute "Wisconsin International University (USA)- Ukraine" (WIUU).

“I’m very excited because I’ve never had such an award before. It’s usually only very important people get honorary doctorates, like the former US Ambassador to Ukraine, John Herbst” said Sukholutskaya. “It’s from my hometown and that makes it special.”

Sukholutskaya was presented her doctorate degree in Kiev during a recent trip to the European country in which she also took part in a forum concerning German, Ukrainian and American cooperation in areas of education and business.

“I was the one who physically received the award. But I feel it goes to my teachers, advisors, and mentors,” Sukholutskaya said. “It also goes to my parents who ingrained in me and taught me to respect other countries and other cultures.”

During her October visit, Sukholutskaya communicated with Wisconsin International University Ukraine teachers and students, while taking part in discussions and other activities offered for the Symposium participants, as well as presenting various ECU programs to potential partners. As a result, at least two Ukrainian students, and possibly more, will be studying at ECU soon.

In the process, she was able to establish contacts with a German Ambassador for Ukraine, along with representatives from German universities and the banking business.

Sukholutskaya has served as ECU’s Global Education Director for three years and is currently director of Russian Studies at ECU. She also served as chair of the Global Education Committee when it was first formed several years ago.

Approximately 40 ECU students have studied in Ukraine and 20 students have come from Ukraine to study at ECU since 2008, according to Sukholutskaya. Some Ukrainian students have stayed for a full semester or a month while a majority of ECU students have gone to Ukraine for three weeks.

Besides the partnership with the Ukraine institutions, ECU has The State University of Management in Moscow, Russia and the University of Limoges in Limoges, France as sister institutions and has an exchange program with the University of Extremadura in Caceras, Spain. ECU has also signed an agreement of cooperation with Hunan University in Changsha, China. Currently, more than 20 students from the Hunan University Law School in Hunan, China, are also studying at ECU.

-ECU-

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