MOVING THROUGH TIME: OUTLINE OF HISTORY OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL FACULTY OF TERNOPIL NATIONAL PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

30-year activity of the geography faculty of Ternopil National V. Hnatiuk Pedagogical University became the motivation for preparing this publication. During this period, the faculty managed to establish itself on the map of Ukraine as a training center for geography, ecology and tourism, as well as a research center for a number of relevant research areas such as design, social geography, geoecology and tourism. Ternopil is located between the powerful centers of geographical science, such as Lviv, Kyiv, Chernivtsi and Lutsk. It was determined to become one of the centers of spatial and geographical studies. Particularly this area became the small homeland of the founder of national geography Stepan Rudnytsky. The formation of a separate unit was a matter of time and was justified by the demands of the region. Educational institutions, state and commercial structures of Western Ukraine nowadays are the workplace of a large number of the faculty graduates. During its short history, the faculty has managed to occupy a significant niche at the national level, established itself as a center of historical, geographical, local history, tourist and ecological-geographical research. The historical preconditions for the opening of the specialty "Geography", the formation and activities of the geography faculty are presented. The retrospective analysis of the recent history of the faculty is conducted where the peculiarities of its establishment as an independent unit of the university are discussed. The main stages of formation and development of the geography faculty are highlighted. The history and conditions of each educational and research subdivision formation of the faculty are described. A review of personnel working at the faculty is conducted. Scientific and practical conferences, which were held at the faculty over the time of its functioning, are systematized; the problems of the conducted scientific events are determined. A kind of specialization in holding scientific forums at each of the departments can be noticed. Department of Geography and Methods of Teaching  Problems of Nature Management and Population, Department of Geography of Ukraine and Tourism  History of Ukrainian Geography, Socio-Geographical Research and Tourism Studies, Department of Geoecology and Methods of Teaching Ecological Disciplines  Ecological-Geographical and Geoecological Principles of Ecological Science. The history of the beginning of various educational directions, including Secondary education (Geography), Ecology, Tourism, Geography, Earth sciences at the educational degree of "Bachelor" and "Master" is presented. The dynamics of defense of faculty lecturers over 2000-2020 is highlighted. The materials on the success of postgraduate studies are provided, as well as the number of defensed graduate students and applicants under the guidance of the faculty professors, the participation of faculty members in specialized academic councils of Lviv, Kyiv, Chernivtsi, and Eastern European national universities. The review of scientific activity directions of employees (for Department of Geography and Methods of its Teaching, Department of Geography of Ukraine and Tourism, Department of Geoecology) in the context of general departmental and individual directions of researches is carried out. The publishing activity is described, including the preparation of textbooks for universities and secondary schools, individual and collective monographs of the department lecturers and educational units in general. The key directions of the faculty international activity are outlined. Promising features of its educational, organizational and scientific work are determined.