In observance of Ukraine’s Independence Day, the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame will be illuminated in Ukrainian blue and yellow on the evening of Sunday, August 24, 2025. This is the date on which the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine was issued in 1991.
While the date would always be meaningful, during the ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia that began on February 24, 2022, this date holds even greater significance. Illuminating the Hesburgh Library in the colors of the Ukrainian flag is a visible symbol of the University of Notre Dame’s solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Shortly following the beginning of Russia’s invasion, then-University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., issued a statement:
“We at Notre Dame stand in solidarity with all peace-loving people worldwide in demanding an end to this invasion of a sovereign nation. This unprovoked war is an international abomination and must stop now. Until it does, may God keep safe all of the innocent men, women, and children who are currently in harm’s way. The prayers of the Notre Dame family are with them.”
This commitment was affirmed on March 6, 2025, when University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., said, “Let me be perfectly clear here today. We here at Notre Dame stand with the people of Ukraine and offer them our full support.” Father Dowd was speaking at the international conference, “Revolutions of Hope: Resilience and Recovery in Ukraine,” which also served as the public launch of Notre Dame’s Ukrainian Studies Hub, an interdisciplinary initiative led by the Keough School’s Nanovic Institute for European Studies to promote the study of Ukraine across campus and around the world.
Clemens Sedmak, director of the Nanovic Institute and professor of social ethics at the Keough School of Global Affairs, said, “Ukraine is the name of a country, but it also stands for resilience and a fight for freedom and independence. We have a strong partner in the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv, Ukraine), and our friends there teach us a lot about how to prepare students for a life of service and how to model a commitment to dignity and a willingness to sacrifice.“
During the 2025-26 academic year, the Nanovic Institute is hosting Rory Finnin, professor of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge and recipient of the 2024 Laura Shannon Prize in Contemporary European Studies, who said, “At Notre Dame, we ask, ‘What would you fight for?’ The people of Ukraine remind us that they fight not only for independence, but for their very existence and dignity. Lighting a space of knowledge in the colors of the Ukrainian flag signals our solidarity with them and our hope in a just peace.”
In addition to the illumination of the Hesburgh Library, Ukraine’s Independence Day will also be observed by the Nanovic Institute through a forthcoming story by Taras Dobko, rector of Ukrainian Catholic University, and by the display of prints by Ukrainian photographer Iva Sidash and a message from Ukrainain Catholic University in its office suite.
Originally published by at nanovic.nd.edu on August 21, 2025.