Save Polish Studies at UT

Polish Studies at The University of Texas at Austin (UT) at Risk Due to Budget Cuts!

The University of Texas decided to cut funding to the Center for Russian, East European, Eurasian Studies (CREEES) department – as a result, the 27 year-old Polish Studies program, which has already been underfunded, may be cut altogether if external funding is not found. Austin Polish Society (APS) has created a committee to raise funds and is reaching out to Polonia and the global community to find external funding, support, and resources to keep the Polish Studies program alive at UT. Read more about our fundraising plans below.

Poland has long been a staunch U.S. ally and is now one of the most economically sound countries in Europe and home to many U.S. businesses. Texas is home to the first Polish settlement in the U.S. andmany descendants of Polish heritage, and UT offers the only Polish Studies program at a Texas state university.  We need your help to save the Polish Studies coursework at UT.

What can you do to help?

Sign our petition to show your support and find out about the letter writing campaign to the University.

Make a donation and find out more about the financial needs of the program (and how the Czechs of Texas saved their program with an endowment).

Read about students who took Polish Studies courses and offer your own testimonials.

If you have ideas, contacts or resources, or you are a student, please join our efforts! Contact Mary Gawron at: mmwgawron@gmail.com.

What are the fundraising plans?

We hope to build an endowment to secure the long-term viability of Polish Studies at UT, and are simultaneously raising money for the short-term to pay the salary of a full-time lecturer in Polish language at CREEES.

What is an endowment?

The endowment model is common across the US to support instruction of various languages and culture at the university level. The Department for Slavic and Eurasian Studies (DSES) at UT currently has a Czech endowment from Czech cultural organizations in Texas made years ago that amply funds the teaching of Czech language and culture at UT. Endowments, however, require on-going active fundraising and 5 years maturation for funds before they are made available for department use. A large enough endowment will allow for the permanent funding of a lecturer position to create and maintain language and cultural classes, market them, and could possibly include a scholarship component for studying Polish at UT.

What are the short-term program needs?

In the interim, before an endowment becomes available to the department, DSES/CREEES requires a minimum of $40,000/year to hire a dedicated lecturer. UT and the department can commit $15,000/year, leaving a deficit of about $25,000/year for the next 5 years.

 

APS Polish Studies Fundraising Committee Members:

Ambassador Robert Kupiecki, The Embassy of the Republic of Poland. Honorary Member

Zbyszek Wojciechowski MD, Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Houston (TX)

Tadeusz Patzek Ph.D., Professor and Chair Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering

Mary Neuburger  Ph.D., Chair Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies

Mary Gawron, President APS

Gosia Jurczynska, Vice-President APS

Art Gmurowski, APS Board Member

Mark Peczeniuk, APS Board Member

Joanna Patzek , APS Member

Agnes Sekowska, PSFC Student liaison