On 1st September, the term of a new Rector’s team was commenced. For the next four years, the University will be governed by Rector Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak and Vice-Rectors: Prof. Sambor Grucza, Prof. Ewa Krogulec, Prof. Zygmunt Lalak, Prof. Adam Niewiadomski and Prof. Maciej Raś.

On 18th April, Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak was re-elected by the Electoral College of the University of Warsaw for a second term as the Rector of the University of Warsaw. There were three official candidates running in the election, where 435 votes were cast in total, with 432 being declared valid. Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak received 281 votes. According to the UW Status, Vice-Rectors are appointed by the Rector. The appointment of the Vice-Rector in charge of educational affairs is also approved by student and doctoral candidate representatives.

 

Rector’s team for the 2024-2028 term

UW Rector – Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak

Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak is the 45th Rector of the University of Warsaw. He is affiliated to UW as of 1984. Prof. Nowak has held a variety of leadership roles including Head of the Academic Subunit for International Economics and the Academic Unit for Economics at the Faculty of Management, Director of European Centre. In years 1999-2006, Prof. Nowak was Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Management, and in 2006-2012 Dean of this unit. Next four years, he spent at UW working as Vice-Rector in charge of research and cooperation. In 2016, he was elected as Dean of the Faculty of Management. During his academic career, he was delivering lectures at universities in France, UK, USA, Russia, China and Korea.

 

He graduated from the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, studying also at the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign (USA), the University of Exeter (UK), in Antwerp and the Free University of Berlin (Germany).

 

As of 2018, Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak chairs the Academic Sports Association (Akademicki Związek Sportowy, AZS) – a mass students’ sport organisation, one of the biggest sports associations in Poland.

UW Vice-Rectors
Prof. Sambor Grucza

Prof. Sambor Grucza graduated in German Philology (Saarland University) and Applied Linguistics (University of Warsaw). He completed his doctorate in 1994. His research interests are metalinguistics, the theory of language and communication for specific purposes, glottodidactics, translatorics and eye tracking research.

 

In years 2008–2012 and 2016–2020, he held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warsaw. Previously, he was a Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and Head of the Institute of Specialised and Intercultural Communication.

 

Prof. Grucza is also the President of the Polnischer Germanisten Verband and member of the Polish Linguistics Society, and Modern Language Association of Poland.

 

Prof. Ewa Krogulec

Prof. Ewa Krogulec is a geologist, who graduated from the University of Warsaw. In her research work she focuses on hydrogeology, and, in particular, groundwater protection and conservation. She is an author or co-author of about 200 scientific papers, i.e. articles, chapters of monographs, and monographs and maps. She has also been a leader of more than 40 research projects in the field of geology, hydrogeology and environmental protection.

 

Within 2012–2016 and 2016–2020, Prof. Krogulec was the Dean of the Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw. For a number of years, she has been holding the position of the Chairwoman of the Committee for Hydrogeological Documentations, an advisory body to the Ministry of Climate and Environment. She also works as a member of the Water Economy Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences and many scientific councils, including the Scientific Council of Kampinos National Park and Nature Conservation Council, the Mazovieckie Voivodeship.

 

Prof. Zygmunt Lalak

Prof. Zygmunt Lalak is a physicist. His research interests include supersymmetry in four and higher dimensions, theories with extra-dimensions and branes, metastability of the electroweak vacuum, and cosmological particle production. Prof. Lalak was working for many years in the leading research institutions in the area of elementary particle physics: in the laboratory CERN (Switzerland), at the University of Oxford (UK), at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), at the Technical University in Munich and the University of Bonn (both in Germany). He is an author of more than 120 scientific papers published in the leading international journals.

 

Prof. Zygmunt Lalak graduated from the Department of Technical Physics and Applied Mathematics of the Warsaw University of Technology. His scientific career has been associated with the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw, where he received his doctoral degree (1990) and habilitation (1999).

 

In years 2016-2020, he was the Vice-Dean for Research and Development at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw. He also served as the first Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Discipline Physical Sciences. Since 2020, he is in charge of the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” programme.

 

Prof. Adam Niewiadomski

Prof. Adam Niewiadomski is a lawyer and political scientist, who graduated in both fields in 2007 and 2009 respectively. He specialises in agricultural and administrative law as well as real estate economy. He has worked as a lecturer since 2007, teaching courses on agricultural law, administrative law and urban planning. Right from the beginning of his career, he has been affiliated to the University of Warsaw. In 2011, he obtained a doctoral degree in law with distinction and in 2014 a doctoral degree in linguistics. In 2018, he was awarded a postdoctoral degree in law. He is a university professor.

 

Since 2021, Prof. Niewiadomski heads the Chair of Agricultural Law and Food Protection System at the Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Warsaw. He is registered as an attorney-at-law. He carried out grants financed by Polish National Science Centre, such as PRELUDIUM and FUGA. For many years, he has been involved in university and national legislation, e.g. being an advisor to the Sejm’s (lower house of the Polish parliament) Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and serving as the secretary of the Organisation and Legislation Committee of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland. Prof. Niewiadomski is also a member of various academic societies and organisations, including the European Council for Rural Law and the World Union of Agricultural Law.

 

Prof. Maciej Raś

Prof. Maciej Raś is a political scientist, specialising in international political relations and the activity of subnational actors in IR (paradiplomacy). He has lectured at the University of Warsaw since 1999, delivering courses regarding, among others, foreign policy analysis and international relations in the post-Soviet area.

 

Since the beginning of his career, he has been affiliated to the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies (formerly Faculty of Journalism and Political Science), from which he graduated in 1999. He also completed the National Security Study. In 2003, the researcher was awarded a doctoral degree and in 2019 a habilitation in political science.

 

As a part of his work at the faculty, Prof. Raś held various functions such as the Dean’s Representative on Foreign Ph.D. Candidates (2013-2020), Head of the Postgraduate Cultural Marketing Studies (2006-2014) and Head of the National Security Study. From 2020 to 2024 he was the Vice-Dean for Students Affairs.

 

Prof. Maciej Raś has carried out research and teaching internships, while also lecturing as a visiting professor in China, Germany, Russia and Türkiye. He has presented papers in Baltimore, Bangkok, Bonn, Chengdu, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Jerusalem, Odesa, Moscow, Nashville, Saint Petersburg, San Francisco, Sofia and Tokyo.