The Faculty of Social Sciences was established on 1 October 1973. For the first time in history, a woman – Małgorzata Myśliwiec, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof. – was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences
Professor, is the role of dean a challenge, another career step or a mission?
Definitely a mission and a challenge. I belong to the school of academics who believe that subsequent steps in a scientific career involve increasing responsibility and scope of tasks. At a certain stage, our knowledge, skills and competences should serve not only the implementation of individual interests and goals, but should best serve the academic community we represent. With this conviction, I decided to present a vision for the further development of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and I intend to fulfil my obligations as best as I can.
We have many problems with feminine forms of nouns for professions and functions in the Polish language, which result more from our habits than from the nature of the language itself. For a woman dean should we use “Dziekana” or “Dziekanka”? Or maybe you will stick with the masculine form of “Dziekan”?
I am a supporter of feminine forms. As a Spanish-speaking person, I find them completely natural. Forms such as “decana”, “profesora”, “rectora”, or “ministra” are used in everyday language without a second thought. In Poland, however, it is probably still a matter of cultural conditions and linguistic habits: if something is masculine, it sounds more serious. In my opinion, this is not a rule. “Dziekana” or “dziekanka” are good terms. However, due to my Spanish sympathies, I tend to prefer the first form: “dziekana”.
Faculty of Social Sciences consists of 246 academic employees and 43 administrative employees. What changes await employees of our faculty from 1 October of this year?
We are starting a new term of office of the dean authorities, which will involve people making their debut in certain roles. The position of Deputy Dean for Research and Promotion of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Silesia in Katowice will be taken over by Łukasz Jach, PhD, Assoc. Prof. who is a representative of the Institute of Psychology. Deputy Dean Monika Żak, PhD, from the Institute of Sociology, will be responsible for student affairs and education, whereas Edyta Widawska, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof., from the Institute of Pedagogy, will take up the position of Deputy Dean for International and Domestic Cooperation.
Changes will also be noticeable at the level of degree programme directors. The Degree Programme Director of Journalism and Social Communication will be Mirosława Wielopolska-Szymura, PhD, DSc., and the Degree Programme Director of Psychology will be Maciej Janowski, PhD.
The internationalisation of the faculty is an important step in developing international cooperation. This is, of course, a long-term process that will certainly bring many benefits. Has a strategy already been prepared that will define goals and priorities in this area?
The new dean authorities will start performing their duties on 1 September 2024, and it is then that work on the strategy will be completed. However, without a doubt, one of the most important goals will be to strengthen scientific and educational cooperation of the Faculty of Social Sciences with the universities of the Transform4Europe alliance. European universities are the future of higher education on our continent. We can already see today that entities that apply for funding for scientific and educational grants within consortiums such as Transform4Europe have a much greater chance of obtaining them. The Faculty of Social Sciences cannot fall behind.
What do you wish for yourself and the faculty employees in the 2024-2028 term?
I wish all employees, PhD students and students of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Silesia, as well as myself, new inspirations and careful observation of the world around us. New scientific discoveries are never brought about by conformists, but by those who are able to look at the world completely differently than the majority of the population. May it be a good year, full of success for all of us.
Małgorzata Myśliwiec, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof.