Rector of the University of Zielona Góra
Wojciech Strzyżewski was born and educated in Zielona Góra. He graduated in history from the Tadeusz Kotarbiński Pedagogical College (Polish abbr.: WSP) in Zielona Góra. In 1984 he began to work in the Institute of History of WSP. In 1990 he defended his doctoral dissertation and in 1999 took a habilitation (postdoctoral) exam in modern history at the Faculty of History of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. In 2001 he became a professor of the University of Zielona Góra. In 2010 he was bestowed with the title of a professor of humanities and in the following year was hired as a full professor (Polish: profesor zwyczajny).
In his research conducted for years, he has dealt with auxiliary sciences of history and the early modern era of the 16th-18th centuries. He is a recognised expert in heraldry in Poland. He has developed dozens of coat of arms and flag designs for various local government units (including the coat of arms and flag of the Lubuskie province). He is the two-time winner of the award for the best book on heraldry in Poland and the author of over 150 scientific publications, including 10 monographs. He is also a member of the Polish Heraldic Society and the German Herold Society in Berlin.
Prof. W. Strzyżewski has experience in educating young academics, having been the supervisor of 10 doctoral dissertations and the multiple-time reviewer of habilitation (postdoctoral) and doctoral dissertations. He has also been the head of several research teams.
Since the beginning of his career, he has been associated with Zielona Góra’s universities, firstly with WSP and subsequently with UZ. He has very rich experience in managing various university structures. He has performed many organisational functions, starting with the Head of the Department of History of the 16th-18th Centuries, then the Deputy Director of the Institute of History and afterwards the Director of the Institute of History. In the years 2005-2012, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities of UZ. From 2012 to 2020 he served as the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and the First Deputy Rector of UZ. In 2020 he was elected as the Rector of UZ for the 2020-2024 term. In 2024 he was re-elected for the second term (2024-2028).
Due to the character of his research and organisational work, prof. W. Strzyżewski has got stable experience in cooperation with local self-government units of various levels, government administration and institutions, as well as educational institutions. He has participated in the work of many local government commissions and teams.
Filling the role of the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs allowed prof. W. Strzyżewski to gain experience in working with many student and educational organisations.
