Rudnytzky, Leo

Rudnytzky, Leo [Рудницький, Леонід; Rudnyc'kyj, Leonid], b 8 September 1935 in Lviv, d 8 December 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Literary scholar; full member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society (NTSh); son of Ivan Teodor Rudnytsky. A postwar émigré, he studied at La Salle College in Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Ukrainian Free University in Munich (PH D, 1965) and taught at the University of Pennsylvania (1958–60) and La Salle College (from 1961). He served as president of the NTSh in the United States (1990–2000) and as president of the World Council of the Shevchenko Scientific Society (1992–2006). From 1996 to 1999 he was dean of the faculty of philology and in 1998–2004 he served as rector of the Ukrainian Free University. He was a founding member (in 1974) of the Saint Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics (USA), and served as its president in 2004–18. He was also a member of the executive of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UKKA) and the editor of The Ukrainian Quarterly. Rudnytzky wrote a book on Ivan Franko and German literature (1974), articles on Ukrainian literature in émigré and American scholarly periodicals, and entries for American encyclopedias. He coedited proceedings of a symposium on the Ukrainian Catholic church (The Ukrainian Catholic Church, 1945–1975, 1976) and also coedited or wrote introductions to a number of NTSh publications.

Marko Robert Stech

[This article was updated in 2025.]