On 3 September 2015 the Jagiellonian University was visited by a delegation from the Consulate General of the United States to Kraków, consisting of the Consul General in Kraków Walter Braunohler, Public Affairs Officer Pam DeVolder, and Educational Advisor Maria Brzostek.
The visit started with the meeting with the JU Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs Prof. Andrzej Mania, which was primarily devoted to the collaboration between the Jagiellonian University and US higher education institutions as well as American studies at the JU. Prof. Mania stressed that US universities are among the top foreign partners of the oldest Polish university. Then the guests were taken on a short tour of Collegium Novum building.
The main part of the visit took place in the Rector's Room, where the guests met with the Rector of the Jagiellonian University Prof. Wojciech Nowak, the Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs Prof. Andrzej Mania and the Vice-Rector for Medical College Prof. Piotr Laidler. The diplomats were made familiar with the most important facts about the Jagiellonian University, including both its historic tradition and its current role, with special focus on student exchange, studies in foreign languages, Polish-American collaboration and the development of state-of-the-art research infrastructure, including the SOLARIS synchrotron. The participants of the meeting expressed their commitment to the further development of Polish-American collaboration at the Jagiellonian University.
Walter Braunohler began his duties as Consul General in Kraków on August 13, 2015. A Foreign Service officer whose diplomatic career began in 2002, Mr. Braunohler has served in Thailand, Iraq, Australia, Sudan, and in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Braunohler grew up in western Michigan. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public policy from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Before joining the U.S. Department of State, he worked for the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Pam DeVolder serves as Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Kraków. Her previous diplomatic assignments include Public Affairs Officer in Laos (2011-2014), Deputy Press and Cultural Attaché in Berlin (2007-2010), Political, Economic and Consular Officer in Malawi (2005-2007), and Economic and Labor Officer in Cambodia (2003-2005).
Ms. DeVolder received a B.A. in Political Economy of Industrial Societies and German from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.S. in Ecosystem Science and Conservation from the University of Washington. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 2002, she developed techniques to restore polluted environments.
