Quinnipiac University’s First Two Polish-American Business Leader Scholars Introduced at Warsaw Launch Event

PHOTO: From left: U.S. Ambassador to Poland Stephen Mull, Prof. Leszek Balcerowicz, former chairman of the National Bank of Poland and former deputy prime minister, Katarzyna Michalska, Quinnipiac University Polish-American Business Leader Scholar, Marcin Ambrozej, Quinnipiac University Polish-American Business Leader Scholar, Pete Novak and Kasia Novak attended a June 22 event in Warsaw, Poland where Quinnipiac’s first two Polish-American Business Leader Scholars were introduced. The Novaks of Longmeadow, Massachusetts donated $1 million to Quinnipiac in 2014 to fund the Novak Family Polish Chair in the Central European Institute at Quinnipiac.

The two graduate students were introduced at a June 22 launch event in Warsaw, Poland, where Stephen Mull, the U.S. Ambassador to Poland, addressed an audience of over 40 executives, leading academics and diplomats from Poland.

Ambrozej and Michalska will start their MBA degrees at Quinnipiac’s School of Business this fall. While at Quinnipiac, they will work in U.S. companies. They will return to Poland after completing the program.

“It’s amazing what we’ve accomplished in just one year,” said Pete Novak of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, who with his wife, Kasia, donated $1 million to Quinnipiac in 2014 to fund The Novak Family Polish Chair at the Central European Institute at Quinnipiac University. The institute strives to build bridges between the United States and the nations of Central Europe by fostering relationships in academics, business and culture.

Novak said that in the last year, Quinnipiac has identified strategic university and business partners in Poland, hired the first distinguished scholar and Polish chair, granted its first two scholarships and attracted the interest of the top leaders in Poland.

Among the others dignitaries in attendance at the launch were: Quinnipiac President John L. Lahey; Prof. Leszek Balcerowicz, former chairman of the National Bank of Poland and former deputy prime minister; Alex Storozynski, distinguished scholar and Polish chair of the Central European Institute at Quinnipiac; Donald Weinbach, vice president for development and alumni affairs at Quinnipiac; and Christopher Ball, István Széchenyi chair and director of the Central European Institute.

Lahey said, “This is good for the students. This is good for Poland. This is good for America. And this is good for Quinnipiac University. Central Europe is unique and growing, and Poland was the only European country to grow during the global recession. Quinnipiac can play a large role here, and the people from this region can play a large role at Quinnipiac.”

Storozynski, president emeritus and vice chairman of the Kosciuszko Foundation of New York, was appointed as distinguished scholar and Polish chair in May. “I had the opportunity to go to many universities, but tonight exemplifies the reason I chose Quinnipiac,” he said. “The university cares about students and building deep relations with Poland. The key to these programs is that MBA graduates will gain valuable experience working in American companies before they are required to return home to work in Polish firms and expand on the Polish phenomenon.”

Ball, who is honorary consul for Hungary, said, “It was exhilarating to see the support for our programs in Poland. We really got the attention of the leadership in Poland, from diplomats, the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, Pawel Graniewski of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and the management of multinationals like Coca-Cola, to the many Polish company executives who attended. They all came out. They all understood the importance of what we’re trying to do. And, they are all supportive.”

Both Ambrozej and Michalska hold bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Warsaw School of Economics. Ambrozej holds an additional master’s degree in management from the Finance and Management University in Bialystok, Poland. During their time in the United States, Ambrozej will work in accounting and financial management of small-to-medium-sized companies and Michalska will work in the health care industry. Both arrive at Quinnipiac in August to start their program.

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 6,500 full-time undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students in 58 undergraduate and more than 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business and Engineering, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s “Best Colleges” issue. The 2015 issue of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s “Best Colleges” named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master’s programs in the Northern Region. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s “The Best 379 Colleges.” The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Quinnipiac among the “Great Colleges to Work For.”

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