On 5 November 2014, at the University of Rochester, the JU Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs, Prof. Andrzej Mania presented Dr Frederic Skalny with the silver Plus Ratio Quam Vis Medal. The decoration was awarded for Dr Skalny's invaluable contribution to the promotion of Polish science and culture in the United States, and the development of long-term cooperation between the Jagiellonian University and the University of Rochester.

Dr Frederic Skalny comes from a Polish family which emigrated to the United States in 1907 and has actively promoted Polish science and culture in this country. Their achievements in this field include the establishment of the Louis Skalny Foundation, which sponsors the publication of an academic journal of the Polish American Association and funds scholarships for students specialising in Polish studies. The Foundation greatly contributed to the creation of the Center for Polish and Central European Studies at the University of Rochester in 1994. The unit, currently named the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies, plays a major role in the promotion of the Polish culture in Rochester and the entire USA, through a number of cultural initiatives, including lectures, concerts, and Polish film screenings open to the general public. 

Thanks to the generous financial support of the Louis Skalny Foundation to the Skalny Center, it was possible to establish programmes of academic staff exchange between the University of Rochester and a number of Polish institutions of higher education. The bilateral collaboration agreement between the Jagiellonian University and the University of Rochester signed in 1995 has enabled research stays of JU staff at the Skalny Center. In 2011 the bilateral collaboration was expanded to include student exchange.

The Plus ratio quam vis medal is awarded to honour persons distinguished for their eminent services to the Jagiellonian University. Minted to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the University's revival by Queen Saint Jadwiga and King Vladislaus Jagiełło, it was first presented to Pope John Paul II, an alumnus and honorary doctor of the Jagiellonian University. Other persons awarded with the medal include: the Nobel Prize winner Dr James Dewey Watson, the former prime minister of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, the former President of France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso.