Annual Report of the Permanent Chair of Polish Culture at Canisius College for September 2007 to February 2009
Lecture- September 2007 at Montante Cultural Center – Lecture on Pope John Paul II by his biographer, George Weigel. Co-sponsored with the Global Study of Religion Christ & Culture Lecture Series.
Library Exhibit- September 2007 at Bouwhuis Library- An exhibit on Pope John Paul II and his Papacy.
Concert- October 2007 at the Montante Cultural Center – Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Persis Vehar performing the Chopin Fantasy on Polish Airs. (Co-sponsored with Arts Canisius).
Lecture- October 2007 - Wanda Slawinski: Ignancy Domeyko, Polish emigre to Chile.
Film Festival- November 2007 at the Market Arcade - Polish Film Festival. Films presented included: The Immensity of (in)justice, Saviour Square, Gdansk Railway Station, Persona non grata, The Warrior, and Crown Witness.
Lecture - February 2008 in the Student Center, Regis South - An Evening with Joseph (Korzeniowski) Conrad celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth. An interactive discussion on Conrad's influence and universal message featuring Mr. Melvin Schroeder and Dr. Kenneth Sroka of the Canisius College English Department.
Stage Performance - March 2008 at the Montante Cultural Center - Life in a Jar, an interactive theatrical presentation about Irena Sendler, a Polish rescuer of Jewish children during the Holocaust.
Film viewing - April 2008 in the Student Center, Regis North - A viewing of the movie, Zegota, the Polish underground organization established to help Jews during the Nazi occupation of Poland which assigned Irena Sendler to the work she did.
Lecture - April 2008 in the Horan O'Donnell Science Building, Classroom 107 - Poland and its New Government - A lecture by Dr. Slawomir Jozefowicz (Kosciuszko Foundation Scholar-in-Residence at SUNYAB).
Concert - April 2008 at the Montante Cultural Center - Soprano Mary Beth Wrobel in Concert with pianist Rasa Stalygiene.
Exhibit - May-September 2008 - The Spirit of Compassion: Herbert Hoover and America's Help to Poland in its Hour of Need exhibit reviewing Herbert Hoover's humanitarian work in Poland following WWI. Co-sponsorship with Polish American Congress, Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, Chopin Singing Society, Polish Cultural Foundation, Polish Union of America, Kosciuszko Foundation-WNY Chapter.
Concert - September 2008 - Montante Cultural Center, Canisius College Campus
“Three Polish Sopranos” featuring Mary Beth Wrobel, Emily Tworek-Helenbrook and Brittany Mruczek, three local Polish American sopranos in a concert of classical, sacred and Polish folk music. The concert benefited the Canisius College Campus Ministry student service trip to a Polish orphanage.
Lecture - Wednesday, October 2008 - Lecture-discussion and book signing by Andy Bienkowski and Mary L. Akers on their book, Radical Gratitude, which chronicles Mr. Bienkowski’s family and their forced deportation from Poland to Siberia in WWII, and the impact his childhood experiences had on his philosophy toward life and his later work as a clinical therapist.
Concert - October 2008 - Montante Cultural Center, Canisius College Campus
109th Annual Concert of the Chopin Singing Society under the direction of Dr. Thomas Witakowski in a program presenting Moniuszko's Opera, Flis.
Film Festival- November 2008
Films presented included Stone Silence, First Day, Twist of Faith, Lejdis, Katyn and 52%
Lecture - February 2009- A lecture entitled "Jewish-Catholic Dialogue and the Legacy of John Paul II", by Rabbi David Novak of the University of Toronto on the current status of Catholic-Jewish religious dialogue with an emphasis on the impact of John Paul II on inter-religious dialogue.
Polish Library Support – Journals supplied to the Papal Academy of Theology in Krakow.
Advisory – Assistance provided for the Polish Student Association for their activities.
Ongoing promotion of publications – Continuation of the sale and promotion of The Polonian Legacy of Western New York publication and the Polish Churches and Chapels in Western New York DVD (available through buffaloheritage.com)
Links to Other Polish Sites:
Polish Embassy in the United States
Jesuits in Krakow
Polonia of the Eastern Lakes
Poland Main Site