As the professors admitted in the letter, information that the presidium of the Central Commission for Degrees and Titles refused to present Dr. President dr. hab. Andrzej Zybertowicz shook them up to the title of professor. “In this way, one of the most outstanding and original Polish thinkers in the field of social sciences was harmed. An excellent scientist, didactist, a man actively engaged in working for Poland was hurt,” they said.
They added that this was done “even though some of the reviews in the qualification lead did not meet the requirements of normal scientific reviews”. “You can not disagree with the views of Andrzej Zybertowicz, but you can not dispute the fact that he has significant scientific achievements. We believe that this decision is one of the manifestations of a profound disease of Polish science and we express deep solidarity with Professor Andrzej Zybertowicz” – they emphasized.
The letter was signed by: prof. dr hab. Andrzej Nowak (Jagiellonian University), prof. dr hab. Wojciech Polak (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń), dr hab. Sławomir Cenckiewicz, prof. dr hab. Piotr Franaszek (Jagiellonian University), prof. dr hab. Mirosław Golon (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń), dr hab. Tomasz Kozłowski (professor at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń), prof. dr hab. Aleksander Nalaskowski (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń), priest prof. dr hab. Józef Marecki (Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow), prof. dr hab. Stanisław Mikołajczak (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań), prof. dr hab. Tadeusz Wolsza (Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences Warsaw / Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz), as well as editors Bronisław Wildstein and editors Krzysztof Wyszkowski.
Pursuant to statutory provisions, the title of professor is awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a request of the Central Commission (CK) for Degrees and Titles.
Professorship of the adviser to President Andrzej Duda
The issue of possible professor Zybertowicz’s Presidium of the Central Commission addressed the Monday meeting. “As a result of secret voting: 5 votes in favor, 3 votes against and 3 abstentions, a decision was made refusing to present the candidate of the President of the Republic of Poland to the candidate Dr. Andrzej Zybertowicz for the title of professor in the field of social sciences” – Dr. Jerzy Deneka told PAP on Tuesday , director of the office of the Central Commission for Degrees and Titles.
He explained that a person whom the Central Commission refused to support the application for the title of professor and forward him to the President of the Republic of Poland may request the Central Commission to reconsider the case or challenge the decision taken by the Central Commission to the Provincial Administrative Court.
When asked if he expected a positive court decision, Zybertowicz said it is impossible to predict, because judges are sometimes more loyal to the mood of their environment than to the principles of logic and decency.
Zybertowicz without professorship. Glinski’s emotional reaction
“Bitter taste” of professorship
“Professorship is a certain dignity granted by professors. At the moment when these professors behave in such a way that they lose my respect, then the professorship granted by people who are difficult to respect loses their taste. Therefore, if I obtained this title as a result appeal, it would have a bitter taste, “he emphasized.
He reminded that the procedure of granting the title of professor consists of several stages. The first is five reviews. Zybertowicz reminded that all of them ended with positive conclusions. It was different in the case of the so-called superreview (i.e. review reviews). “One of them applied a criterion that was not binding during this procedure, and only because the conclusion of this superreview was negative,” he explained. He said that it was pointed out by two professors, members of the Humanities Section, who sent letters to the President of the Central Commission stating clearly that serious irregularities had occurred during the procedure.
The proceedings on granting Zybertowicz the title of professor of social sciences were initiated in November 2017 by the Council of the Faculty of Humanities of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.
(mzs)
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