NASH RRI, City Colleges of Chicago, and the Association of Innovative and Digital Education Announce the First Educational Hub for Displaced Ukrainians in the U.S. at Wright[...]

The National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH) Refugee Resettlement Initiative (RRI) partners with City Colleges of Chicago and the Ukrainian Association of Innovative and Digital Education to create the United States' first Educational Hub for Displaced Ukrainians (EduHub) in Chicago, Illinois at Wright College, Humboldt Park. Wright College, Humboldt Park is one of the seven City Colleges of Chicago.

This initiative is part of the Network of Ukrainian Educational Hubs launched by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and coordinated by the Association of Innovative and Digital Education. The Network includes more than 70 EduHubs in Europe, the UK, Japan, and Ukraine, offering continuing education, job preparation, and psychosocial support to Ukrainians displaced by the war since February 2022. The Chicago EduHub serves Ukrainian new arrivals across the Chicagoland area through educational, community building, and psychosocial events and workshops delivered both in-person and online.

Chicago is welcoming the second largest population of displaced Ukrainians since 2022, preceded by New York City. Displaced Ukrainians are being welcomed throughout Chicago, including in the historic Ukrainian Village in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago, a Ukrainian diaspora community made up of newcomers who have been emigrating since the 1800s to Chicago.

City Colleges of Chicago is hosting this first EduHub in the United States at Wright College, Humboldt Park. The community college system has a long history of providing education and English language learning courses to new arrivals. Wright College, Humboldt Park's Campus is providing classroom space for the operations of the EduHub for Ukrainian learners. Seed funding to support the launch of this partnership was provided by the Walder Foundation.

"Chicago is historically home to one of the highest populations of Ukrainians in the United States and Ukraine is the heritage of a number of our City Colleges students," said City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Juan Salgado. "We are honored to host the country's first-ever Educational Hub for displaced Ukrainians."

The NASH RRI is overseeing the operations of the first U.S. EduHub in Chicago and supporting efforts to expand the EduHub Network to other NASH member systems across the country. "This historic partnership between a NASH higher education system, the Government of Ukraine, and community actors across Chicagoland is a much-needed lifeline for recently arrived Ukrainians," said Colleen Thouez, Founder and Director of the NASH RRI. "The Chicago EduHub will also resonate with Ukrainian mothers navigating a different school system, to young Ukrainian professionals learning the ropes of the job market, and to many others. The Chicago EduHub-the first of its kind in the country-is a welcome sign of concrete, community support to Ukrainians during a time of continuing need, given the realities of the ongoing war."

The Association of Innovative and Digital Education is leading the development of the educational materials and content for the Chicago EduHub. "Our mission is to preserve and develop the human capital of Ukraine, taking into account that more than 8 million Ukrainian citizens, mostly women and children, were forced to leave Ukraine due to the full-scale war by Russia," said Mariya Boguslav, Executive Director of the Association of Innovative and Digital Education and Coordinator of the Network of Ukrainian Educational Hubs, "Therefore, Ukrainian Educational Hubs are opened precisely in the countries with the largest number of refugees to provide an opportunity for Ukrainians to master competencies, including soft skills, which are needed in the labor market, in order to be able to financially support themselves and their children, receive psychosocial support, etc. We help all Ukrainians to socialize to the communities in which they currently live, as well as to stay in touch with Ukraine."

About the NASH Refugee Resettlement Initiative

The NASH RRI supports refugee and forcibly displaced students, scholars, and families who have recently arrived in the United States. It leverages the scope and scale of NASH member systems helping to build a national movement to expand the number of welcoming campuses across the country, and provides support building programs ranging from workforce development, scholarships, sponsorship, temporary housing and more. The RRI regularly convenes institutions, systems, and state actors, working with volunteers and staff who may not otherwise have considered themselves as partners in the welcome and resettlement landscape. To learn more, visit https://nash.edu/refugee-resettlement-initiative/.

About the National Association of Higher Education Systems

Founded in 1979, the National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH) works to advance the role of multi-campus systems and the concept of systemness to create a more vibrant and sustainable higher education sector. NASH systems are comprised of more than 700 campuses and serve more than 7.5 million students in nearly every state in the USA. To learn more about NASH and its national transformation agenda, the Power of Systems, visit www.nash.edu.

About City Colleges of Chicago

City Colleges of Chicago is the city's most accessible higher education engine of socioeconomic mobility and racial equity-empowering all Chicagoans to take part in building a stronger and more just city. Learn more about City Colleges of Chicago at http://www.ccc.edu/ or call 773-COLLEGE.

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