On 15 March, a joint meeting of the Council of Rectors of the Voronezh Region and the Committee on Education, Science, and Youth Policy of the Voronezh Regional Duma was held. It took place at the Voronezh State Art Institute (VSAI).
The meeting was preceded by a concert by the VSAI musical ensembles: the symphony orchestra (conducted by Evgeny Mingalev, Honoured Artist of the Voronezh Region) and the DomraNova ensemble.
The meeting was chaired by Dmitry Endovitsky, Chair of the Council of Rectors of the Voronezh Region and VSU Rector, who drew attention to the specific format of the event.
“This meeting brings together two different bodies: the Committee on Education, Science, and Youth Policy and the Council of Rectors. Since one of the topics of the meeting is culture, the venue for the event was not a random choice.”
Oleg Mosolov, Deputy Chair of the Government of the Voronezh Region, outlined in his report the measures for regional support for universities in the Voronezh Region, pointing out that the human factor remains central to the issue.
“Higher education institutions are the “owners” (excuse me for this term, but it is illustrative in this case) of human potential.”
Oleg Mosolov noted that universities needed to use and develop that potential in a responsible and efficient way.
“We continue to develop regardless of events,” concluded Oleg Mosolov.
Natalia Salogubova, Chair of the Department of Education, Science, and Youth Policy of the Voronezh Region, continued the topic of developing the potential, in particular, scientific potential, in her speech. She outlined measures for the development of higher education institutions in the region.
Sergey Turistchev, DSc in Physics and Mathematics, Head of the Department of General Physics at the Faculty of Physics at VSU, spoke on behalf of the Council of Young Scholars and Specialists.
Oleg Devutsky, Vice-Rector for Research at VSAI, speaking on the topic of culture, called it one of the key factors in shaping a student’s personality. The topic of culture was continued by Maria Mazur, Head of the Department of Culture of the Voronezh Region. She spoke about the creative industries and announced the opening of a centre for creative industries in Voronezh in 2022.
Speaking of personal development, Professor Bronislav Tabachnikov urged rectors and officials to be guided by Pushkin’s lines that man’s self-rule is the foundation of his grandeur. He also cited Yunna Moriz, “That which is beautiful can’t be for nought”. The latter, in particular, referred to culture itself, which at all times remains a binding social factor, despite the lack of attention from the authorities. This was the subject of a discussion that developed during the meeting.
Sergey Filonenko, Rector of the Voronezh State Pedagogical University, also drew attention to the relationship between culture and education.
Summing up the meeting, Sergey Karpov, Rector of VSAI, noted that he always welcomed the meetings of the Council of Rectors. He believed that the meetings were always conductive to an honest exchange of views.
