U.S. Embassy Mourns the Death of American Studies Professor Krzysztof Michałek

2 December 2009

Professor Michałek at the Ambassador’s Residence during a reception held in June 2008 in honor of Fulbright Scholars

Professor Krzysztof Michałek, one of Poland’s foremost experts on the United States, died in a traffic accident outside Warsaw on November 23, 2009.  The Embassy community was shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic news.  Professor Michałek had dedicated his academic career to exploring, understanding, documenting, and explaining the United States.  He also opened American eyes to a Poland that was rapidly transforming in the 1990s.  In doing so, he made a lasting impact on the lives and thinking of countless individuals in the academic and foreign affairs communities as well as among the media and the general public in both countries.  Professor Michałek was a friend and a long-standing partner of the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw.   We are profoundly grateful to him and salute his decades of hard work and achievements both in Poland and in the United States.  He contributed to greater mutual understanding between Poles and Americans and to better U.S.-Polish relations during a pivotal 20-year period in the common history of our two nations.

At the time of his death, Professor Michałek was Deputy Dean of the Political Science Department at the Academy of Humanities in Pułtusk as well as a lecturer at the Historical Institute of the University of Warsaw.  In the mid-1990s, he directed the American Studies Center of Warsaw University.  Prior to that, he was the Associate Director of Indiana University’s Polish Studies Center from 1992-94.

Professor Michałek authored many books and articles on the American history and current affairs and frequently appeared on public and private television and radio as an expert commentator on American domestic and foreign policies.  Professor Michałek’s funeral took place on November 30, 2009. Cultural Attaché Chuck Ashley represented the U.S. Embassy offering sincere condolences on his passing and appreciation for his years of friendship