Dominik Wolacewicz

PIASA Latest News about us MEMBERSHIP CONFERENCES AWARDS PUBLICATIONS current events CONTACT Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 4 October 2023 How is it that PIASA has been able to enhance its international reputation as a Poland-focused academic and cultural Institute while operating on a shoestring budget? The answer can be found in the volunteer or modestly paid work of many individuals operating behind the scenes, beginning with our part-time staff in New York consisting of Mariusz Bargielski and Joanna Mroz, who keep the doors open, answer the phones, maintain our files, email the general membership, and help with the events and exhibits. We have also been fortunate recipients of grants generated by Executive Director Bożena Leven to employ the services of archivists Artur Nogaj, Janusz Bonczkowski, Ania Brzyska, and Doninik Wolasiewiz to digitize our collections. Then there are the eighteen members of our Board of Directors who do much more than simply show up for quarterly meetings. Unfortunately, this column’s space constraints prohibit me from noting the contributions of each of them. Here I would like to highlight the work of our treasurer, Dr. Krzysztof Bledowski, whose deft man-agement of our modest investment portfolio has insured that we can do more than just pay the bills in New York; Patrice Dabrowski, who has chaired our last two conference program committees and will soon be working on a third; and Anna Müller, who will be moderating a PIASA webinar devoted to a discussion of migration and human rights in Poland and the US on October 28. This newsletter is the creation of James Pula, who has compiled and edited each issue since its existence. At The Polish Review, Editor-in-Chief Halina Filipowicz has what is essentially a full-time job. She is supported by the journal’s book review editors, associate editors, special issue editors, reviewers of submissions, and an editorial board who have helped place TPR at the top of English-language Polish studies journals. Similarly, Kathleen Cioffi from Princeton University Press volunteers her time to serve as editor of PIASA Books, as do those who serve on her editorial board and who review submitted manuscripts. Finally, there are those who serve on our awards committees, actively participate in our conferences, populate our events, and contribute information for our newsletter. You are the lifeblood of our organization and PIASA is indebted to all of you for your support. Thank you! ― Robert Blobaum, PIASA President

PIASA Latest News about us MEMBERSHIP CONFERENCES AWARDS PUBLICATIONS CONTACT Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 3 July 2023 On July 1 PIASA begins a new administrative year corresponding to the annual terms of service of its elected officers and board members. Lynn Lubamersky, a distinguished historian emerita from Boise State University, has long served on PIASA’s Board of Directors and has been a mainstay on its various committees, most recently the New Britain conference program committee. With the expiration of her term, we thank Dr. Lubamersky for her service to PIASA and will miss her presence on the Board.   Fortunately, her place will be taken up by the outstanding sociologist Geneviève Zubrzycki, a past recipient of PIASA’s Bronisław Malinowski Award, member of the Editorial Board of the The Polish Review, and Director of the Copernicus Center in Polish Studies at the University of Michigan. Meanwhile, veteran Board members Bozena Leven and James Pula have been reelected to new threeyear terms and current Board member Anna Müller has been elected to succeed me as President. As PresidentElect, Dr. Müller will shadow me for a year.   Not only is PIASA a changing organization, it also a growing one, with membership up 5% in just the first six months of this year, compared to final year-end membership in 2022. Since April many of you have responded to my invitation to become electronic subscribers of The Polish Review, which will save on print runs while maintaining the quality standards you have come to expect. This spring we hosted our first in-person Casimir Funk Award Lecture featuring recipient Dr. Thomas Wisniewski and a webinar with our Tadeusz Sendzimir Award recipient Dr. Marcin Żukowski, both in collaboration with the Kosciuszko Foundation.   Most recently, our “Migrations” conference in New Britain at Central Connecticut State University was by all accounts a resounding success, in part because we were able to highlight the achievements of several of our 2022 award recipients, as well the inaugural recipient of the 2023 Karol Pilarczyk Foundation Award, Marta Gorczyńska.   Finally, in line with our practice of alternating the site of our annual meetings between the United States and Poland, we have accepted the invitation of Collegium Civitas to host its 9th World Congress of Polish Studies in Warsaw at the Palace of Culture and Science, with a main theme of “Poland in the World.” We will soon be issuing a call for papers, inviting you and the rest of the world of Polish Studies to join us in Poland’s capital city from June 6-9, 2024.   ― Robert Blobaum, PIASA President