Thaddeus Radzilowski
Encyclopedia
Piast Institute
The Piast Institute is a national research institute for Polish and Polish-American affairs based in Hamtramck, Michigan in the United States, a suburb of Detroit. The Institute was founded in 2003 by Dr. Thaddeus Radzilowski and Mrs. Virginia Skrzyniarz...
, a national institute for Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Polish-American affairs. Dr. Radzilowski's work has focused on Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and other Central and Eastern European nations, including Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. He has written extensively on the histories of these regions as well as the migration of peoples from Central and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, with special emphasis on social history and historiography. He has lectured widely in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and has published more than 100 monographs, edited collections, journal articles, book chapters and scholarly papers. In 1999, the President of Poland presented Dr. Radzilowski with the country’s high civil honor of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for distinguished contributions to the dissemination of Polish culture in the world.
Piast Institute
Dr. Thaddeus Radzilowski's current focus is the leadership of Piast Institute, the largest think tank in North America devoted to Polish and Polish-American issues. Dr. Radzilowski co-founded Piast Institute in 2003 with non-profit veteran Virginia L. Skrzyniarz, who serves as Piast's executive director, and Kay Hartman. Piast Institute is based in Hamtramck, MichiganHamtramck, Michigan
Hamtramck is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 22,423. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion of the western border that touches the similarly surrounded city of Highland Park...
and Dr. Radzilowski serves as its president.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. With its internal staff and its worldwide network of Fellows
Fellows
Fellows or Fellowes is a surname and may refer to:People* Ailwyn Fellowes, 1st Baron Ailwyn , British businessman, farmer and politician* Carol Fellowes, 4th Baron Ailwyn , British peer...
, Piast develops and disseminates information through the development of position papers, conferences, seminars, popular articles, publications, teaching materials, exhibits and academic studies. Piast Institute also aids in the management of the Dekaban Foundations, which sponsor university faculty exhanges in economics, engineering and agriculture between Polish universities and institutions in the United States, Canada and Western Europe. In addition to the oversight of these programs, Piast Institute also sponsors and organizes annual Dekaban Lectures that have featured, among other speakers, former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning author Alex Storzynski.
Piast is also certified by the United States Department of Citizenship and Immigration as an official assistance site for immigration matters, and arranges social services for local immigrants of all ethnicities. In addition to helping immigrant families, Piast Institute works to mediate social and political conflicts among ethnic groups, including taking leadership in mediating a highly publicized national story covered by the New York Times, among others, regarding the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
community's airing of Calls to Prayer over loudspeakers in Detroit. In addition to working with America's Islamic community, Piast also works to reinforce cultural ties between the Polish-American community and those of African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Jewish-Americans.
Piast also takes a lead role in protecting Polish culture from defamation and ensuring healthy dialogue between groups of all cultures. In 2006, it promoted serious discussion of the book FEAR: Anti-Semitism in Poland After Auschwitz by soiologist Jan T. Gross
Jan T. Gross
Jan Tomasz Gross is a Polish-American historian and sociologist. He is the Norman B. Tomlinson '16 and '48 Professor of War and Society and Professor of History at Princeton University.- Biography :Jan T...
, sponsoring an online international scholarly symposium (www.AnalysisofFEAR.org) on the highly debated charges made by the author. Piast was also a strong voice speaking against the common mischaracterization of Nazi concentration camps built on Polish soil as "Polish Death Camps," aiding in an effort that culminated with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
renaming the "Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp" to the "Former Nazi German Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau."
Other current involvements
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Polish Roman Catholic Union of America The Polish Roman Catholic Union of America is the oldest Polish American organization in the United States. Its history spans notable periods in the development of the Polish American ethnic group, from the time of early settlement by immigrants from Poland through their development of ethnic... Polish National Alliance The Polish National Alliance is the largest and one of the oldest Polish fraternal organizations in the United States, founded on 15 February 1880 in Philadelphia under the influence of Polish patriot Agaton Giller. Its first president was Juliusz Andrzejkowicz.The PNA founded a number of... The Polish Review The Polish Review is an English-language scholarly journal published quarterly in New York City by the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America.The Polish Review has been appearing since 1956.-Editors in Chief:*Stanisław Skrzypek... (Editorial Board) |
Early career
Madonna University
Madonna University is a private, non-profit, Catholic university located in suburban Livonia, Michigan, on the western perimeter of metropolitan Detroit. Conducted by the Felician Sisters, it has extension campuses in Southwest Detroit, Orchard Lake, Michigan Madonna University is a private,...
, Heidelberg College
Heidelberg College
Heidelberg University is a private liberal arts college located in the city of Tiffin, Ohio in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1850, it was known as Heidelberg College until 1889 and from 1926 to 2009.- History :...
and Southwest Minnesota State University
Southwest Minnesota State University
Southwest Minnesota State University is a public, four-year university that is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It is located in Marshall, Minnesota, United States, a city of 13,000 people. The school has a full-time enrollment of approximately 3,500 students and...
, where he served as Chair of the Department of History, Director of the Regional History Center, Director of Rural Studies and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. He also served as the Acting Director of the Immigration Research Center of the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, co-directed a special program on International Business at the Wirtschaft Universitet in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and chaired the International Conference on Migration at the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
in Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
.
Dr. Radzilowski has also served as an advisor and consultant to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the U.S. Bureau of the Census. He was the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
’ liaison to Ethnic and Community groups in the United States, a consultant for the New Jersey Department of Education
New Jersey Department of Education
The New Jersey Department of Education administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered in Trenton.The Department is responsible for ensuring that...
and numerous other local and state government boards on ethnicity and pluralism. He has also written, produced, and consulted and advised on a number of radio and television productions, including award-winning films created in conjunction with organizations such as PBS and the Arts & Entertainment channel. Dr. Radzilowski received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Michigan.