|
notes
|
Mission
Founded in 1925, the
Kosciuszko Foundation is dedicated to promoting and strengthening
understanding and friendship between the peoples of Poland and the United
States through educational, scientific, and cultural exchanges and other
related programs and activities. It awards fellowships and grants to
graduate students, scholars, scientists, professionals, and artists and
helps to increase the visibility and prestige of Polish culture in
America’s pluralistic society by sponsoring exhibits, publications, film
festivals, performing arts such as concerts and recitals, and assists
other institutions with similar goals.
History
The Kosciuszko Foundation had
its beginnings in the Polish American Scholarship Committee, launched in
1923 by Dr. Stephen Mizwa at the request of the Polish Government to bring
students to American universities. Dr. Mizwa was put in touch with Dr.
Henry Noble McCracken, President of Vassar College, who had recently
returned from an investigative visit to Poland and Eastern Europe.
Eventually, the two men enlarged the Committee's mission to the promotion
of cultural and educational exchange between the United States and Poland.
In December 1925, the Committee was changed into the newly-incorporated
Kosciuszko Foundation, named as a living memorial to the Polish military
hero who had come to fight in the American War of Independence in 1776.
In 2000, the Kosciuszko
Foundation marked its Diamond Jubilee and celebrated 75 years of carrying
out this mission. Its activities have grown to include scholarship and
exchange programs; teaching English in Poland; and cultural programs at
its New York townhouse headquarters and throughout the country. It has
Chapters in seven other cities and members across the nation and around
the world. Many of its grantees occupy important positions in Polish
academic life, Thanks to its members and benefactors, the Foundation is
able to disburse more than $1 million annually to hundreds of Polish
Americans and others involved in Polish studies. It has continued through
the difficulties of the Depression, World War Two, and decades of
Communist rule. With the support of individuals, corporations, and
foundations, it shall continue in the tradition of its namesake, General
Tadeusz Kosciuszko, to enrich the educational and cultural lives of both
America and Poland. |