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50th Anniversary

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Polish studies at the University of Michigan, and there is much to celebrate!

For half a century, the Copernicus Endowment has been sustained by the vitality and financial assistance of hundreds of individual supporters. While our main goal is to enable faculty appointments and provide student fellowships in Polish studies, funding from the Endowment also makes it possible to offer outstanding public programming. It is in recognition of its multiple contributions to our students and the U-M community that the Endowment was elevated by the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts to a program in 2014, and designated as a full-fledged center in 2019.

Click this link or the image to the right to view our 50th Anniversary commemorative booklet, which contains notable photographs and commentary from faculty, students, alumni, and visitors throughout the years.

CCPS hosted an anniversary symposium on October 9, 2023 with two panels featuring U-M alumni who specialized in Polish studies during their time in Ann Arbor.

The first roundtable, “Polish Studies, Then and Now” featured Anna Cichopek-Gajraj (Arizona State University), Paulina Duda (Brown University and Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology), Keely Stauter-Halsted (University of Illinois at Chicago), and Ewa Wampuszyc (U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum), and was moderated by Brian Porter-Szucs (U-M). Watch the recording here.

The second roundtable, “Poland: Here, There, and Elsewhere” included presentations from Raymond A. Patton (City University of New York), Jessica C. Robbins-Panko (Wayne State University), and Lenny A. Ureña Valerio (University of New Mexico), with Geneviève Zubrzycki (CCPS and WCEE Director, U-M) serving as moderator. Watch the recording here.

The panel discussions were followed by a celebration attended by donors, affiliated faculty, students, and longtime friends of the center. The Dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Anne Curzan, made remarks highlighting CCPS’s wide and unique impact on the U-M community and beyond.