Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan
Encyclopedia
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...
universities, located in the city of Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
in western Poland. It opened on May 7, 1919, and since 1955 has carried the name of the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
.
History
The university was ceremonially opened on May 7, 1919 (the 400th anniversary of the foundation of Poznań's Lubrański AcademyLubranski Academy
The Lubrański Academy was a university college that was established in 1518 in Poznań by Bishop Jan Lubrański. It was the first school with university aspirations in Poznań .-History:The Academy's first rector was the Poznań humanist Tomasz Bederman...
). It was originally called Wszechnica Piastowska ("University of the Piasts
Piast dynasty
The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great...
" – wszechnica being a less common Polish word for "university"), and in 1920 was renamed Uniwersytet Poznański ("Poznań University"). For the first 20 years it educated students in law, economy, medicine, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, agriculture and forestry.
In 1920 famous sociologist Florian Znaniecki
Florian Znaniecki
Florian Witold Znaniecki was a Polish sociologist. He taught and wrote in Poland and the United States. He was the 44th President of the American Sociological Association and the founder of academic sociology studies in Poland...
founded the first Polish department of sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the university, one of the first such departments in Europe. In the same period of the university's history, botanist Józef Paczoski
Józef Paczoski
Józef Konrad Paczoski was an eminent Polish botanist, who coined the term "phytosociology" and was one of the founders of this branch of botany .- Early life :...
founded the world's first institute of phytosociology
Phytosociology
Phytosociology is the branch of science which deals with plant communities, their composition and development, and the relationships between the species within them. A phytosociological system is a system for classifying these communities...
.
After the invasion of Poland, Poznań was annexed by Germany
Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany
At the beginning of World War II, nearly a quarter of the pre-war Polish areas were annexed by Nazi Germany and placed directly under German civil administration, while the rest of Nazi occupied Poland was named as General Government...
and the University was closed by the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
in 1939. It was reopened as a German university in 1941, which operated until 1944. Staff and students of the Polish university, many of them resettled by Germans to Warsaw, opened an underground Polish "University of the Western Territories" (Uniwersytet Ziem Zachodnich), whose classes met in private apartments (see underground education in Poland). The Polish university reopened, in much smaller form, after the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1950, the Medical Faculty, including the Dentistry section and the Faculty of Pharmacy, were split off to form a separate institution, now the Poznań University of Medical Sciences
Poznan University of Medical Sciences
Poznan University of Medical Sciences is a prominent Polish medical university, one of the oldest in Europe, located in the city of Poznań in western Poland. It traces its beginnings to the foundation of Poznań University in 1919, and was formed as a separate institution in 1950...
. In 1955 Uniwersytet Poznański adopted a new patron, the 19th-century Polish Romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
, and changed to its current name.
Sites
The university's central administrative building is Collegium Minus, on the west side of Adam Mickiewicz Square at the western end of the street Święty MarcinŚwięty Marcin
Święty Marcin , in full ulica Święty Marcin , is a main central street in the city of Poznań in western Poland. It runs from south of the old town district, westwards past the church of St...
. (This is one of a group of buildings, including the Imperial Palace, built in the first decade of the 20th century while Poznań was still under German rule; it originally housed a Royal Academy.) Adjoining this is the Aula, which is frequently used for ceremonies and for classical music concerts, and Collegium Iuridicum (accommodating the law faculty). Some teaching takes place in Collegium Maius, another of the aforementioned group of buildings (on ul. Fredry), although this is mainly used by the medical university. Other buildings in the city centre include Collegium Historicum on Święty Marcin, Collegium Novum (used mainly for language teaching) on Al. Niepodległości, and the university library on ul. Ratajczaka.
The university also uses a number of other buildings in southern and western districts of Poznań. However it is strongly developing its site at Morasko
Morasko
Morasko is a part of the Stare Miasto district of Poznań, in western Poland. It covers a fairly large but little-urbanised area in the north of the city. To the west and north it borders on the village and municipality of Suchy Las, a developing area of suburban housing...
in the north of the city. As of 2006, the faculties of physics, mathematics and computer science, biology, geographical and geological science had moved to the new location.
The university also has external branches in other towns of western Poland, including Kalisz
Kalisz
Kalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
, Ostrów Wielkopolski
Ostrów Wielkopolski
Ostrów Wielkopolski is a town in central Poland with 72,360 inhabitants , situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; the seat of Ostrów Wielkopolski County.-History:Recently, a small fortified dwelling dating from the 10th century was discovered on the north-east side of...
and Słubice.
Staff and student numbers
At the start of the 2008/2009 academic year, the university had 46,817 undergraduates (including about 18,000 on weekend or evening courses), 1308 doctoral students, and 2247 other post-graduate students. The number of undergraduates declined slightly between 2005 and 2008.At the end of 2008, the university had a total of 2892 teaching staff, including 257 full professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
s and 490 associate/assistant professors. It also had 2120 other employees.
Degrees and faculties
Like most Polish universities, Adam Mickiewicz University awards the following degrees:- licencjat, normally a three-year course, sometimes considered equivalent to a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
or Bachelor of ScienceBachelor of ScienceA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree - magisterMagisterMagister is Latin for "master" or "teacher." It may refer to:* The Magister , an academic degreePositions or titles* A magister equitum, or Master of the Horse...
, normally a two-year course following the licencjat, considered equivalent to a Master of ArtsMaster of Arts (postgraduate)A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
or Master of ScienceMaster of ScienceA Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degree - doctorateDoctorateA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
s - habilitationHabilitationHabilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
s
The university has the following faculties:
- Faculty of BiologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
- Faculty of ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
- Faculty of Educational Studies
- Faculty of Geographical and Geological Science
- Faculty of HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
- Faculty of LawLawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and Administration - Faculty of MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Computer ScienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems... - Faculty of Modern Languages and LiteratureLiteratureLiterature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
- Faculty of PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
- Faculty of Polish and Classical PhilologyPhilologyPhilology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
- Faculty of Political SciencePolitical sciencePolitical Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and JournalismJournalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and... - Faculty of Social SciencesSocial sciencesSocial science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
and PhilosophyPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational... - Faculty of TheologyTheologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
- Faculty of PedagogyPedagogyPedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
and Fine Arts, in KaliszKaliszKalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
Famous alumni and honorary doctors
Among the University's most famous graduates are the mathematicians who broke the Enigma machineEnigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
: Marian Rejewski
Marian Rejewski
Marian Adam Rejewski was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who in 1932 solved the plugboard-equipped Enigma machine, the main cipher device used by Germany...
, Henryk Zygalski
Henryk Zygalski
Henryk Zygalski was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who worked at breaking German Enigma ciphers before and during World War II.-Life:...
, and Jerzy Różycki
Jerzy Rózycki
Jerzy Witold Różycki was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who worked at breaking German Enigma-machine ciphers.-Life:Różycki was born in what is now Ukraine, the fourth and youngest child of Zygmunt Różycki, a pharmacist and graduate of Saint Petersburg University, and Wanda, née Benita. ...
. Other leading alumni include poet Stanisław Barańczak, composer Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
Jan Andrzej Paweł Kaczmarek is a Polish composer who has lived and worked in the United States since 1989. He has written the scores for more than 50 feature films and documentaries, including Finding Neverland , for which score he won an Academy Award and National Board of Review award...
, businessman Jan Kulczyk
Jan Kulczyk
Jan Kulczyk, born June 24, 1950, in Bydgoszcz, is a prominent Polish business oligarch. He is the owner of Kulczyk Holding with headquarters in Warsaw, and an international investment house Kulczyk Investments with headquarters in Luxembourg and offices in London, Kiev and Dubai...
, and journalist and communist-era dissident Adam Michnik
Adam Michnik
Adam Michnik is the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, where he sometimes writes under the pen-names of Andrzej Zagozda or Andrzej Jagodziński. In 1966–1989 he was one of the leading organizers of the illegal, democratic opposition in Poland...
.
Recipients of honorary doctorates from the University include Marshal Józef Piłsudski, Marshal Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its...
, Marie Curie
Marie Curie
Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
, Ignacy Paderewski, Roman Dmowski
Roman Dmowski
Roman Stanisław Dmowski was a Polish politician, statesman, and chief ideologue and co-founder of the National Democracy political movement, which was one of the strongest political camps of interwar Poland.Though a controversial personality throughout his life, Dmowski was instrumental in...
, Witold Hensel
Witold Hensel
Witold Hensel was a Polish archaeologist. He was a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a member of the Sejm in PRL .-Publications:...
and Wisława Szymborska.
List of rectors
- 1919–1923: Heliodor Święcicki (1854–1923), doctor and philanthropist
- 1923–1924: Zygmunt Lisowski (1880–1955), lawyer
- 1924–1925: Stanisław Dobrzycki (1875–1931), Slavic language specialist
- 1925–1926: Ludwik SitowskiLudwik SitowskiLudwik Sitowski was a Polish zoologist. In 1925-1926 he was rector of the University of Poznań during an economic crisis.Of his notable works, On the Inheritance of Aniline Dye is amongst them and was published on September 3, 1909....
(1880–1947), zoologist - 1926–1928: Jan Gabriel Grochmalicki (1883–1936), zoologist
- 1928–1929: Edward Lubicz-Niezabitowski (1875–1946), doctor and zoologist
- 1929–1931: Stanisław Kasznica (1874–1958), lawyer
- 1931–1932: Jan Sajdak (1882–1967), classical philologist
- 1932–1933: Stanisław Pawłowski (1882–1940), geographer
- 1933–1936: Stanisław Runge (1888–1953), veterinarian
- 1936–1939: Antoni Peretiatkowicz (1884–1956), lawyer
- 1939: Bronisław Niklewski (1879–1961), plant physiologist
- 1945–1946: Stefan Tytus DąbrowskiStefan Tytus DabrowskiStefan Tytus Zygmunt Dąbrowski of Radwan coat of arms – Physician, physiologist, biochemist, and Polish politician. Rector: Adam Mickiewicz University - Poznań, Poland .-Life:...
(1877–1947), doctor and physiologist - 1946–1948: Stefan BłachowskiStefan BłachowskiStefan Błachowski was a Polish psychologist and professor at Poznań University.-Life:Błachowski was the son of a military physician, Konstanty Błachowski, and Maria Niklas. He graduated from Gymnasium no. V in Lwów and in 1907 began studying philosophy, psychology and philology at Lwów University...
(1889–1962), psychologist - 1948–1952: Kazimierz AjdukiewiczKazimierz AjdukiewiczKazimierz Ajdukiewicz was a Polish philosopher and logician, a prominent figure in the Lwów–Warsaw school of logic. He originated many novel ideas in semiotics, including the "categorial grammar" used by many formal linguists...
(1890–1963), philosopher and logician - 1952–1956: Jerzy Suszko (1889–1972), chemist
- 1956–1962: Alfons Klafkowski (1912–1992), lawyer
- 1962–1965: Gerard LabudaGerard LabudaGerard Labuda was a Polish historian whose main fields of interest were the Middle Ages and the Western Slavs. He was born in what became the Polish Corridor after World War I...
(1916–2010), historian - 1965–1972: Czesław ŁuczakCzesław ŁuczakCzesław Łuczak was a Polish historian. He was a rector of the Adam Mickiewicz University from 1965 to 1972, and from 1969 to 1981 and from 1987 to 1991, director the University's Institute of History...
(1922–2002), historian - 1972–1981: Benon Miśkiewicz (1930–2008), historian
- 1981–1982: Janusz Ziółkowski (1924–2000), economist and sociologist
- 1982–1984: Zbigniew Radwański (born 1924), lawyer
- 1984–1985: Franciszek Kaczmarek (born 1928), physicist and mathematician
- 1985–1988: Jacek Fisiak (born 1936), English language specialist
- 1988–1990: Bogdan Marciniec (born 1941), chemist
- 1990–1996: Jerzy Fedorowski (born 1934), geologist
- 1996–2002: Stefan Jurga (born 1946), physicist
- 2002–2009: Stanisław Lorenc (born 1943), geologist
- 2009– : Bronisław Marciniak (born 1950), chemist
International cooperation
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany
- Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Germany
- University of Greifswald, Germany
- Universität Wien, Austria
- Masaryk UniversityMasaryk UniversityMasaryk University is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the third Czech university , it now consists of nine faculties and 42,182 students...
, Brno, Czech Republic - Université Libre de BruxellesUniversité Libre de BruxellesThe Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...
, Belgium - University of Rennes 2 – Upper Brittany, France
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
- Indiana University of PennsylvaniaIndiana University of PennsylvaniaIndiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA. The university is northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...
, Indiana, US - Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
Ithaca, New York, US - Università degli Studi di Udine, Italy
- Escola Superior de Hotelaria e Turismo do Estoril, Portugal
- Sabanci UniversitySabanci UniversitySabancı University is a private research institution located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1996. SU is a small and highly focused university with 2861 undergraduates and 624 graduates, maintaining a strong emphasis on social and natural sciences...
, Istanbul, Turkey - Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
- Agder University, Norway
- Dogus UniversityDogus UniversityDoğuş University , is a private university located Acıbadem, Kadıköy, İstanbul. It stands on the lower side of Acıbadem Hill.-History:...
, Istanbul, Turkey - Anadolu UniversityAnadolu UniversityAnadolu University is a public university in Eskişehir, Turkey and the fourth largest university in the world by enrollment.- History :...
, Eskisehir, Turkey