National Security Professor Participates in High Level International Conference with Ukrainian President, Global Leaders, Academics

There were many moments that Olena Lennon, Ph.D., held on to as she took part in the annual meeting of the Yalta European Strategy in Kyiv focused on “How to End the War.” It was a high-profile event attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, members of his cabinet, and Retired Lt. General Keith Kellogg, the United States Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, as well as policymakers, military leaders, soldiers, academics, and activists from 30 countries.

Yet, Dr. Lennon said the experience felt intimate because the discussions and debates about the future of Ukraine and the security of Europe were “so genuine.”

At the conclusion of the proceedings, Dr. Lennon, a practitioner in residence in National Security and Homeland Security in the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, couldn’t wait to return to the University of New Haven. She was excited to talk with her students about how the discussions literally brought to life a central tenet of her teaching.

“What I want to demonstrate to my students is that democracy is not an abstract system, or time period, or form of government,” she said. “It’s a lived experience. It’s something we benefit from. But we can take it for granted. It must be protected.”

The most memorable moment came when active-duty soldiers and officers, as well as veterans and former prisoners held captive by Russia, shared their experiences “about why they were there as the first line of defense and what they were defending,” Dr. Lennon said.

“It was truly inspirational and humbling to be in the presence of such resilience and sacrifice,” she continued. “They are people who didn’t want a war. Many were trained to be teachers, doctors, journalists, or who had ambitions to be artists or scientists. They never aspired to be soldiers, but they rose to the occasion. We were reminded that they are fighting a war of necessity. The Russians are fighting a war of choice. The Ukrainians have been united in fighting to hold the line for nearly four years – against all odds.”

“It’s heartbreaking to know the extent of the human toll the war has taken,” Dr. Lennon noted. “Sometimes we get so bogged down in the cost of military aid, we forget the Ukrainians are paying for it in human lives, and that’s the highest price.”

Dr. Lennon said she was honored to represent the University at the Yalta meeting. “It’s an event that has a lot of symbolic and historic importance, as it was originally held in Yalta in 1945 when Europe was divided into spheres of influence,” she said.

“Ukraine’s version of the Yalta meeting highlights that Ukraine is not merely a sphere of influence, but an actor with its own democracy and sovereignty,” she continued. “It was rewarding to see that the forum organizers understand the importance of American academics interacting with policymakers. They understand the importance of testing ideas in real time.”

“The main value of attending the conference comes from representing the University of New Haven as an institution that is recognized as a leader in national security and training individuals who aspire to be future global leaders in the field,” she said.

A former Fulbright scholar and a Title VIII Scholar at Woodrow Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute in Washington, D.C., Dr. Lennon is a native of Eastern Ukraine and remains deeply tied to family, friends, and colleagues there. At the University, she teaches courses on U.S. Foreign and Defense Policy, International Relations, and U.S. National Security. Her research centers on the domestic and international politics of Ukraine and Eurasian geopolitics and security.

She also serves as an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) election observer in transitional democracies.

“I’ve lived in places that are unstable and fragile, growing up in uncertain times first in the Soviet Union, and then independent Ukraine,” she said. “I know firsthand that the ideas of human rights protections and freedoms are not a given unless real people do their daily work responsibly. I’ve been an election observer in a lot of transitional democracies. I have seen that democracies can weaken or change at any time unless people are consciously protecting it and translating ideas into action.”

“I want my students to understand that national security is an evolving field of human interaction where ideas have traction,” Dr. Lennon continued.

“Policy is ideas, and ideas emerge from conversations,” she added. “The war in Ukraine is a defining moment in the future of democracy not only in Ukraine but in the world. We all need to ask questions and play a part. Will we live in the kind of world where authoritarian regimes get to do whatever they want to do – kill civilians and silence opposition through aggression – or do we get to live in a world where the principles of non-aggression and human rights protections matter?”

Dr. Lennon’s participation in the Yalta meeting is part of the University’s multi-pronged commitment to and involvement with Ukraine. Last fall, the University established a collaboration with Mariupol State University that focuses on education in national security as well as veteran affairs.

“Our National Security faculty are working with MSU faculty to help them design and implement a comprehensive national security curriculum,” she said. “We are sharing our syllabi and our curricula, talking with our counterparts at MSU. They have been guest speakers here, and we have spoken to classes there.”

“Our conversations and our shared experiences are helpful to us and to them,” she said. “It is critical in wartime to sustain Ukrainian education and research. And working with them teaches us about national resilience.”

The University’s School of Health Sciences is currently hosting a Ukrainian Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Oleksii Boduliev, a skilled anesthesiologist and trauma care expert. The University’s Office of Military and Veteran Affairs has held meetings with veterans at MSU to help them establish a Veterans Center, “that will offer Ukrainian veterans a dedicated space for meetings, legal and psychological services, academic support, and career and employment assistance,” Dr. Lennon said.

In November, the University of New Haven and the University of Hull in England are co-sponsoring an international conference on “The Role of the University in War,” with Mariupol State University faculty and students also taking part. Lee College Interim Dean David Schroeder, Ph.D., and Ryan Noonan ’20, ’23 M.S., the University’s manager of Military and Veterans Affairs, will attend in person in England and other University faculty will participate virtually.

Dr. Lennon’s expertise extends far beyond the University, as she speaks regularly on the war in Ukraine with local and national media and at public forums across Connecticut and nationally.

“It’s really rewarding that as a Ukrainian American I’m in a position to build bridges,” she said. “I can’t imagine not being involved. We are witnessing a critical point not just in Ukrainian history but in world history.”