Piast Institute

The Piast Institute is a national institute for Polish and Polish-American affairs based in Hamtramck, Michigan in the United States, a suburb of Detroit. The Institute was founded in 2003 by Dr. Thaddeus Radzilowski and Mrs. Virginia Skrzyniarz. With a Board of Directors comprised of prominent Polish-American leaders, an international network of Institute Fellows, and a staff led by Dr. Radzilowski as president and Mrs. Skrzyniarz as executive director, Piast Institute has evolved into the largest think tank in North America devoted to Polish and Polish-American affairs.

Institute mission

The Piast Institute seeks to "Build a New Polonia for the 21st Century." With its staff, boards and international network of fellows, Piast develops conferences, seminars, publications, public programs, lectures, and exhibits that provide unbiased, timely and current information about Poland, Poles, and Polish Americans. With its resources and its position as a Census Information Center, Piast Institute also acts as a data resource center helping Polish, Polish American and other community groups develop policy papers and historical, cultural, political, economic, social, and demographic studies on a wide variety of topics. The Institute’s mission and programming also aim to celebrate Polish contributions to American as well as general world culture, and to address and counter any inaccurate or defamatory information released about Poland, Poles or Polish Americans.

Census information center

In 2006, the Piast Institute was designated as a United States Census information center (CIC) by the United States Census Bureau. Piast Institute is only one of 59 CIC's, the only Center in the Great Lakes region, and the only CIC whose primary purpose is to represent a European ethnic group.

As a CIC, the Piast Institute is integral part of the U.S. Census Bureau's data dissemination network. The program's primary focus is making census information and data available to underserved communities that may not have access to census data through other means of the data dissemination network. In addition to utilizing the Census data for its own studies and research, the Institute serves the Polish and Polish-American communities well as organizations seeking to forward the goals of other ethnic and minority communities. The Institute also provides census data and reports to businesses for a fee.

Dekaban program

The Piast Institute assists the family of Dr. Anatole Dekaban and his wife Mrs. Pamela Liddle-Dekaban in the oversight and management of the work of the Dekaban-Liddle Foundations. The Foundations, established by Dr. and Mrs. Dekaban in 1982, facilitate agricultural, economic, and engineering exchanges between Polish universities and universities located in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The foundations seek to benefit Poland and its citizens by enhancing the quality of Polish science and education.

In addition, the Piast Institute sponsors the annual Dekaban Lecture to commemorate and honor the work and spirit of Dr. and Mrs. Dekaban. Recent keynote speakers participating in the Dekaban lectures have included figures such as Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of the most influential figures in the history of U.S. foreign policy, and Alex Storzynski, a Pulizter-Prize winning journalist..

Executive staff

Dr. Thaddeus Radzilowski serves as Piast Institute president. Dr. Radzilowski is an award-winning historian focusing on Poland and other Central and Eastern European nations, including Russia. He has written extensively on the histories of these regions as well as the migration of peoples from Central and Eastern Europe, with special emphasis on social history and historiography. He has lectured widely in Europe and North America and has published more than 100 monographs, edited collections, journal articles, book chapters and scholarly papers. In 1999, the President of Poland presented Dr. Radzilowski with the Cavaliers Cross of the Polish Order of Merit for distinguished contributions to the dissemination of Polish culture in the world.

Mrs. Virginia Skrzyniarz serves as Piast Institute executive director. Mrs. Skrzyniarz has more than seventeen years of experience in managing non-profit organizations. She has served as an executive level administrator with duties in personnel, risk management and supervision of employees and facilities, and she has also directed of development and events planning. Prior to co-founding the Piast Institute, Ms. Skrzyniarz was Vice President for Administrative Affairs at St. Mary’s College with responsibility for development, fund raising, events, planning, advertising, public relations, security and risk management. She also served as Executive Director and Director of Marketing and Fund Development for Hope Network Southeast, where she wrote and administered state and federal grants and maintained liaison with governmental units as well as private foundations and investors.

Board of directors

Piast Institute’s Board of Directors is the executive body governing the Piast Institute. It is a group of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and professional careers, and is charged with advising, supervising and directing the strategy of the Institute.

External links

* [http://www.piastinstitute.org Piast Institute Website]
* [http://www.analysisoffear.org Piast Institute International Symposium on "FEAR" by Jan T. Gross]

References

* [http://www.piastinstitute.org Piast Institute Website]
* "Detroit Free Press"
* PR Newswire
* "Polish Weekly" Newspaper
* [http://www.poland.us www.poland.us]
* "Macomb Daily" Newspaper
* [http://www.analysisoffear.org Piast Institute International Symposium on "FEAR" by Jan T. Gross]