On 12 May 2023, the Jagiellonian University celebrated the 659th anniversary of its foundation by King Casimir the Great. As always, the date was marked by both students and staff of the oldest University in Poland, who gathered in Collegium Novum, the seat of the University, to express their pride in well over six centuries of academic tradition.
The event started with a speech by JU Rector Prof. Jacek Popiel. He began by briefly outlining the history of the oldest Polish university and its ties to Kraków. He then moved on to remark on the greatest challenges faced by the academic community in the recent years: the COVID-19 pandemic which caused significant disturbance in the task of providing education and carrying out research as well as the Russian aggression on Ukraine which necessitated finding numerous ways to help Ukrainian students and researchers and engaging in war relief efforts aimed to alleviate the situation of both refugees and people living in war-torn zones. As the world is still reeling from the consequences of these two major events, the Jagiellonian University community needs to remain as calm and united as ever in order to withstand the crisis and work towards a better future, stressed Prof. Jacek Popiel.
The second part of the celebrations was focused on the 50 year anniversary of obtaining the PhD title by Prof. Andrzej Zoll, a distinguished authority on Polish criminal law, former judge of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal and JU Honorary Professor. Such events are organised to give praise to the most distinguished members of the Jagiellonian University academic community. In a laudatory speech, Prof. Piotr Kardas from the JU Faculty of Law and Administration summarised the academic career of Prof. Andrzej Zoll, from the earliest years of his education to his crowning achievements and greatest contributions. ‘I have the honour of knowing Prof. Zoll almost as long as he has had a PhD degree. I have never seen him irritated, I have never seen him raise his voice, I have never seen him ignoring rational arguments of his opponents in favour of ad hominem attacks. . . . In this way, he has always followed the Jagiellonian University motto: plus ratio quam vis - let reason prevail over force. He has always demonstrated that the only way to persuade someone is to present a rational, coherent, and logical argument’, said Prof. Piotr Kardas.
The event concluded with a performance of the Polish national anthem by the JU Academic Choir.
