I arrived at Ithaca College the fall of 1989.  I was immediately impressed with Ithaca College’s commitment to excellence in teaching, the community’s scholarly and cultural offerings and the surrounding region’s natural beauty.  I have taught more than fifteen different courses in the Department of History since 1989.  My most recent course offerings include Rise and Fall of the USSR, Twentieth Century Global Revolutions, The Other Europe: Modern Eastern and Central Europe and related advanced level history seminars that include The East of Europe and Stalin and Stalinism.  I thoroughly enjoy teaching these courses and run my classes in an interactive manner focused upon mastering differing critical historical arguments, using primary source historical documents and include a measure of role playing.  I am actively engaged in scholarship related to these historical subjects through research, writing and conference presentations.  I have published fourteen articles in the areas of Soviet, Ukrainian and global history, and social studies pedagogy. I am working on additional articles on a variety of topics and a contracted book focusing on Soviet Culture in the Ukrainian Village.  I have given over fifty conference presentations since 1995 and am a member of numerous professional associations.

I became coordinator of the Social Studies Teacher Education program in 1992.  I teach the Pedagogy and Practice in the Teaching of Social Studies seminar that prepares students for their student teaching.  I also place and supervise student teachers.  We have an excellent, selective social studies teaching program with a strong reputation among area schools.  We have wonderful collaborative links with talented and committed mentor social studies teachers in local middle and secondary schools, many of whom are our own graduates.  We also have a graduate program in Social Studies Teacher Education.  The M.A.T. degree offers teacher certification in a concise one year program or as a combined five year program. Our Social Studies Teacher Education program has a very strong network of alumnae who are increasingly also serving as Alumni-Mentors. We recently established an Ithaca College Social Studies facebook group and we already have over eighty members sharing resources, ideas and initiatives.

I have had a wonderful time teaching, working with and advising Ithaca College students.   Many graduates remain in contact with me as they pursue successful careers in a variety of professions and activities.  Our current students are very involved in their classes, internships, campus life and the Students History Association.  I encourage student civic involvement and am personally engaged in a number of community and international activities.  I look forward to hearing from potential history and social studies teacher education majors.

My office hours for the Spring 2013 semester are Tuesday 2:30-3:30, Wednesday 1:00-2:00, Thursday 11:00-12:00 in Muller 427 and by appointment other days and times through email communication at wasyliw@ithaca.edu I am teaching Rise and Fall of the USSR, a Seminar on Stalin and Stalinism, supervising six social studies student teachers and one social studies/special education student field experience.