Serhiy Kvit


Serhiy Myronovych Kvit, is a Ukrainian literary critic, journalist, educator and social activist. Former champion of Ukraine in fencing. In 1986-1991 he studied at the faculty of journalism at the Taras Shevchenko National University. Serhiy Kvit served as Rector of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy from 2007 until 2014. He occupied the position of Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine in 2014-2016 when the progressive Laws on Higher Education and On Science and Research were adopted. In 2015 Serhiy Kvit signed an agreement that allowed Ukrainian scientists and businesses to fully participate in Horizon 2020, the European Union’s flagship research program.

Biography

Serhiy Kvit is a prominent commentator on educational and mass media issues. In 2002-07 he was Dean of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy's social studies faculty. He founded the Kyiv-Mohyla School of Journalism in 2001 and became President of the Media Reform Centre, set up to initiate open debate and promote more transparent media and government. In 2005-2011 he served as chairman of the Consortium of University Autonomy. Dr. Kvit's research focuses on educational and media reforms, mass communications and philosophical hermeneutics; he has published several books and numerous articles. He has a PhD from the Ukrainian Free University in Munich and also holds a doctorate in philology from the Taras Shevchenko National University. He subsequently held Fulbright scholarships at Ohio University and Stanford University, a Kennan Institute scholarship at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre in Washington DC and a DAAD scholarship at the University of Cologne.
After the Revolution of Dignity he was appointed Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine by the first Yatsenyuk Government on 27 February 2014 and continued to hold the post under the second Yatsenyuk Government. He did not retain his post in the Groysman Government that was installed on 14 April 2016. Serhiy Kvit is a Honoris Causa of Transcarpathian Academy of Arts, Uzhhorod.
In the October 2014 parliamentary election Kvit was elected to Ukraine's parliament Verkhovna Rada on the Petro Poroshenko Bloc electoral list. The Verkhovna Rada terminated his powers as a People's Deputy when he was re-appointed to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on 2 December 2014.
The former member of the Ukrainian paramilitary organization the Stepan Bandera All-Ukrainian Organization «Tryzub». Tryzub became the basis for the formation of the right-wing coalition Right Sector, an organization that played a significant role in the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, and Tryzub's leader, Dmytro Yarosh, became the leader of Right Sector. Serhiy Kvit is a friend of Dmytro Yarosh.

Selected works