31 years of University of Opole

The honouring of Archbishop Alfons Nosol with the title of Honorary Senator of the University of Opole and special congratulations to the academics of our university recently awarded the title of full professor were the two highlights of the gala event at the University of Opole.

‘We rejoice and celebrate, paying tribute to the mature academic aspirations and commitment of many people who fully deserve to be regarded as true university people,’ said Prof. Jacek Lipok, Rector of the University of Opole, at the opening of the celebrations of the University’s 31st anniversary. The ceremony took place on 10 March 2025 in the Blue Hall of Collegium Maius, where the most distinguished figures of the academic community, clergy, local government and local administration gathered.

On 10 March 1994, the decision was made to establish the University of Opole, a university that has become a permanent feature of the academic landscape not only in the region but also in Poland as a whole. Exactly 31 years later, during the speech inaugurating the anniversary celebrations, the Rector of the University of Opole emphasised the need to honour the achievements of his predecessors and the entire academic community.

‘I would like to thank everyone involved in the University’s matters, and everyone aware that every visible change is the consequence of many seemingly invisible actions. Let us remember that it is people who initiate changes,’ emphasised Prof. Jacek Lipok.

One of the most important moments of the ceremony was the reading of the Resolution of the Senate of the University of Opole on awarding the title of Honorary Senator of the University of Opole to Archbishop Alfons Nossol. Prof. Zygfryd Glaeser, in his laudation, emphasised Archbishop Nossol’s commitment to the founding and operation of the University and his contribution to the development of scholarship and intercultural dialogue.

‘Archbishop Nossol’s extraordinary charisma has always attracted and continues to attract people to him, and his special ability to build the right argumentation in both simple and very complicated matters has made him an unquestionable authority, support and dialogue partner for many, regardless of their worldview. Thanks to his broad, open and long-term view of reality in difficult times of change, the Opole region has become a kind of testing ground for reconciliation. What seemed unattainable for many became achievable and came to fruition. The University of Opole was established, the Opole Voivodeship was saved, 84 new churches and a university campus with the Faculty of Theology and Theological Seminary were built in the Opole Diocese. The palace complex in Kamień Śląski was literally rebuilt from the ashes. And all this in the service of man. Every man, without any differentiation,’ said Prof. Zygfryd Glaeser.

Also academics of the University of Opole who had been awarded the full professorship in recent months were honoured. Special congratulatory letters were given to:

• Prof. Waldemar Andrzejewski
• Prof. Marzena Białek
• Prof. Zenon Brzoza
• Prof. Jerzy Kostorz
• Prof. Beata Łabuz-Roszak
• Prof. Jacek Nikiel
• Prof. Inetta Nowosad
• Prof. Aleksandra Rogowska
• Prof. Krzysztof Skowroński
• Prof. Aleksandra Trzcielińska-Polus

‘The University of Opole is not just an academic institution, it is the intellectual heart of the Opole region. Its development means the development of the region, and its successes are a source of pride for us all,’ said Monika Jurek, Voivode of the Opole Voivodeship. Zuzanna Donath-Kasiura, Deputy Marshal of the Opole Voivodeship, added: ‘I am proud that our city is home to the University of Opole, which is a university of European and even global standing.’

The Mayor of Opole, Arkadiusz Wiśniewski, recalled the words of Archbishop Alfons Nossol. ‘Archbishop Nossol once said that Wrocław was great because it had a university. And I’ll say: Opole is great because it has a university.’

The event was enriched by the performance of the Academic Choir of the University of Opole. The young artists performed, among others, Gaude Mater Polonia and Gaudeamus igitur, giving the ceremony a particularly solemn character.

‘If I have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants – these words by Isaac Newton are a special tribute to all those who came before us – our teachers, our educators, the people who gave meaning, shape and form to each of us. I would like to thank everyone involved wholeheartedly,’ concluded Prof. Lipok.

Although the University of Opole was formally established in 1994, its academic roots go back to the Higher School of Education and the Opole branch of the Catholic University of Lublin. Over the decades, it has become an important intellectual centre in the country and the largest academic centre in the region.

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