On May 20th at the University of Rzeszów, Professor Dr hab. med. Adam Reich, Rector-Elect of the University of Rzeszów, met with the Vice-Rectors for the 2024-2028 term. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss plans and strategies for the future functioning of the university. During the meeting, the Rector-Elect presented an outline of his vision for the coming years, and the newly appointed Vice-Rectors shared their insights and ideas.

The newly appointed team of Vice-Rectors, who will assume their positions on September 1, 2024, includes:

• prof. dr hab. Janusz Pasterski, Vice-Rector for the College of Humanities
• prof. dr hab. med. Artur Mazur, Vice-Rector for the College of Medical Sciences
• dr hab. Józef Cebulski, Vice-Rector for the College of Natural Sciences
• prof. dr hab. Jolanta Szempruch, Vice-Rector for the College of Social Sciences
• prof. dr hab. Sabina Grabowska, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Education

Under the new leadership, the University of Rzeszów is poised for dynamic development and aims to strengthen its position as one of the leading universities in Poland.

Vice-Rector for the College of Humanities

prof. dr hab. Janusz Pasterski

Professor Dr hab. Janusz Pasterski – a literary scholar, literary historian, and literary critic, is a professor in the Department of 20th and 21st Century Polish Literature at the Institute of Polish Studies and Journalism at the University of Rzeszów. He graduated in Polish Philology from the Higher Pedagogical School in Rzeszów in 1989, where he also earned his PhD in Humanities in 1999. He obtained his habilitation degree at the University of Silesia in Katowice in 2012 and was awarded the title of Professor of Humanities in 2021. He has been professionally associated with the Higher Pedagogical School in Rzeszów since 1989 and with the University of Rzeszów since 2001. He served as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Philology at the University of Rzeszów from 2002 to 2007. He was the Director of the Institute of Polish Philology at the University of Rzeszów from 2012 to 2016, and since 2019, he has been the Director of the Institute of Polish Studies and Journalism at the University of Rzeszów. He has been a member of the Senate of the University of Rzeszów from 2020 to 2024. He completed scientific internships at the University of Silesia in Katowice (1998/1999) and the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (2007/2008), as well as teaching internships in Italy and Slovakia. Since 1997, he has been a member of the editorial board of the literary quarterly "Fraza". His research interests include 20th and 21st-century Polish literature, especially the interwar period, the works of émigré writers, changes in literature after 1989, and contemporary poetry. He is the author of over 140 scientific publications, including three monographs: *Tristium liber. O twórczości literackiej Stefana Napierskiego* (2000), *Inne wyzwania. Poezja Bogdana Czaykowskiego i Andrzeja Buszy w perspektywie dwukulturowości* (2011), *Świat wiersza. Szkice o polskiej poezji (nie tylko) współczesnej* (2019). He has edited and co-edited eight collective monographs. He has been awarded the Silver Cross of Merit (2018) and the Medal of the Commission of National Education.

Vice-Rector for the College of Medical Sciences

prof. dr hab. med. n. med. Artur Mazur

Professor Dr hab. med. Artur Mazur – a physician and graduate of the medical program at the Nicolaus Copernicus Medical Academy in Kraków. He obtained his PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice. In 2010, he earned his habilitation degree, and in 2017, he was awarded the title of Professor. For many years, he has been conducting research in paediatric endocrinology and diabetology, rare and very rare diseases in children in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, and the role of nutrition in public health. He is the regional consultant for paediatric endocrinology and diabetology in Podkarpackie. After completing his studies, he began working in Rzeszów in 1990, at the First Paediatric Ward of the current Clinical Provincial Hospital No. 2. From 2010 to 2015, he was the deputy head of the ward, and since 2014, he has been the head of the Second Clinic of Paediatrics and Paediatric Endocrinology. In 1994, he obtained his first-level specialization, and in 1998, his second-level specialization. Since 2010, he has been specialized in endocrinology, and since 2015, in paediatric endocrinology and diabetology. Since 2001, he has been working at the

University of Rzeszów, initially as an assistant professor, from 2011 as an associate professor, and since 2017 as a full professor. In 2012, he was elected Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and since October 1, 2019, he has been serving as the Vice-Rector for the College of Medical Sciences at the University of Rzeszów. He is the author and co-author of original and review papers with a total impact factor (IF) of 910.889 and 13,563.000 Ministry of Education and Science points. Professor Artur Mazur is listed among the most influential scientists in terms of citations. In the 2023 ranking of the world's most influential scientists prepared by Stanford University and Elsevier, he was among 11 scientists from the University of Rzeszów.

Vice-Rector for the College of Natural Sciences

dr hab. Józef Cebulski, prof. UR

dr hab. Józef Cebulski, prof. UR – a physicist and graduate of the Higher Pedagogical School in Rzeszów. In 2000, he obtained his PhD in physics, and in 2013, he earned his habilitation degree at the Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków. He has been associated with the University of Rzeszów since the beginning of his scientific career. From 1994 to 2000, he worked as an assistant at the Institute of Physics at the Higher Pedagogical School in Rzeszów, and then, from 2000 to 2013, he served as an assistant professor at the Institute of Physics at the University of Rzeszów. Since 2013, he has been an associate professor at the University of Rzeszów. Together with Professor Eugeniusz Szeregij, he co-founded the Centre for Microelectronics and Nanotechnology. He has held numerous significant academic and administrative positions, including Deputy Director of the Centre for Didactic and Scientific Microelectronics and Nanotechnology for Science and Finance from 2011 to 2013, Director of the Centre for Technical and Natural Knowledge Transfer at the University of Rzeszów from 2013 to 2014, and Head of the Department of Experimental Physics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Rzeszów since 2013. In 2014, he served as Vice-Dean for Finance and Development of this faculty, and in 2016, he was appointed Vice-Rector for Infrastructure and Cooperation with the Economy at the University of Rzeszów. Professor Cebulski's research focuses on semiconductor physics, with particular emphasis on electron-phonon coupling in semiconductor crystals and structures, and the physical properties of selected structures. He applies advanced research techniques such as far-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). His recent research involves the application of FTIR and Raman spectroscopy to the analysis of cancer tissues, aiming to find indicators assessing the effectiveness of breast cancer treatment. Among his most important scientific achievements are the experimental discovery of "backward electron-phonon interaction" (Physical Review Letters, 2009) and the demonstration of the presence of an ultra-thin layer of molybdenum oxide on the surface of alloys after annealing in an open-hearth furnace containing molybdenum (Corrosion Science, 2016). He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and honours, and in 2020, he received the Scientific Laurel of the University of Rzeszów for scientific achievements in the years 2016-2020.

Vice-Rector for the College of Social Sciences

prof. dr hab. Jolanta Szempruch

Professor dr hab. Jolanta Szempruch, PhD – a sociologist and educator. She is a graduate of the Higher Pedagogical School in Rzeszów. She obtained her PhD in 1996 (from the Higher Pedagogical School named after KEN in Kraków), habilitation degree in 2002, and the title of Professor of Social Sciences in 2015. Since 1988, she has been associated first with the Higher Pedagogical School in Rzeszów and later with the University of Rzeszów. From 2006 to 2020, she was employed at Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce as a full professor, serving as the head of doctoral studies and the head of the Department of General Didactics and Early Education. Simultaneously, from 2003 to 2016, she was employed at the Higher School of Economics and Innovation in Lublin (part-time) as a professor at the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology, serving as Vice-Dean and later Dean of the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology for additional master's studies. In 2020, she assumed the

position of Head of the Department of Sociology of Education at the University of Rzeszów. She is a member of the Pedagogical Sciences Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Chair of the Pedagogy Section of the Pedagogical Sciences Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. She is also a member of the Polish Pedagogical Society, Polish Sociological Society, Polish Society of Social Policy, Kielce Scientific Society, and Polish Association of Creative Teachers. Professor Szempruch has implemented many research projects, both Polish and international, in her scientific career. Her scientific output includes 14 authored monographs published in Poland and abroad, 19 books edited or co-edited, and over 200 chapters in monographs and articles in Polish and foreign scientific journals. She has been awarded the Gold Cross of Merit and the Medal of the Commission of National Education. She has also been awarded the Gold Medal for Long Service. She has received numerous awards from the rector for outstanding scientific achievements, the Medal for Merit from the Polish Association of Creative Teachers, and the Title and statuette of the Leader of the University of Rzeszów.

Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Education

prof. dr hab. Sabina Grabowska

Professor dr hab. Sabina Grabowska – a lawyer specializing in constitutional law. Since 2019, she has served as the Dean of the College of Social Sciences. The Polish Parliament appointed Professor Sabina Grabowska to the State Tribunal for the term 2023-2027. She completed her legal studies in 1997 at the Rzeszów branch of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. In 2004, she obtained a PhD in law (Faculty of Law and Administration at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin). In 2012, she obtained a habilitation degree, and in 2023, the title of Professor of Social Sciences in the discipline of legal sciences. Sabina Grabowska has been associated with the University of Rzeszów since its inception. In 1997, she began working at the Krakow University of Agriculture at the Faculty of Economics in Rzeszów. When the University of Rzeszów was established, she continued her academic career at the Faculty of Law, and later at the Faculty of Sociology and History. Currently, she is the head of the Department of Comparative Law and Auxiliary Sciences at the Institute of Legal Sciences of the College of Social Sciences at the University of Rzeszów. From 2016 to 2020, she was the Vice-Chair of the university electoral commission and the senate statutory commission at the University of Rzeszów. From 2020 to 2024, she was a member of the senate committee for education at the University of Rzeszów. Her research interests include constitutional law, political systems, and comparative constitutional law. She is the author of over 180 scientific publications and has been the recipient of numerous scholarships, research internships, and research projects. Throughout her career, she has served as a reviewer in doctoral and habilitation proceedings, as well as a member of scientific programs and editorial committees of scientific journals. Since 2014, she has been the editor-in-chief of the journal "Constitutional Law Review." Sabina Grabowska has been honoured with awards, including the University of Rzeszów Rector's Award of the third degree for her doctoral dissertation (2004), the University of Rzeszów Rector's Award of the second degree for individual scientific achievements (2013), the University of Rzeszów collective Rector's Award for preparing a new statute project of the University of Rzeszów (2019), the University of Rzeszów Student Laurel in the categories "Voice of Reason 2020" and "Student Voice 2021", the Silver Medal for Long Service (2023), and the University of Rzeszów Rector's Award of the first degree for scientific activity and obtaining the title of professor.