The Humanities Institute of the Krosno University of Applied Sciences (PANS) is located in the building of the Collegium Pigonianum at 4-8 Kazimierza Wielkiego Street in Krosno.
This is the University’s oldest building with a tradition dating back to the 17th century, when the Jesuit College was founded. The National Weaving School and Primary School No. 1 were located here as well. The buildings were taken over by the Krosno State College (now the Krosno University of Applied Sciences), and in 2003-2005, were completely renovated thanks to European funds applied for and acquired by the College authorities. Currently, students and lecturers who use the modern infrastructure appreciate the atmosphere of this special place, which is derived from its rich history.
On 9 October 2006 a commemorative plaque was unveiled on the Institute’s building, dedicated to its patron, Stanisław Pigoń – an eminent Polish scholar, a man associated with the Krosno area. The ceremony, held at 8 Kazimierza Wielkiego Street, was attended by, among others, the Mayor of Krosno, Piotr Przytocki, and the College authorities — the Rector of Krosno State College, Professor Janusz Gruchała, and the Vice-Rectors: Professor Maria Ruda and Professor Władysław Witalisz. The event was also honoured by the presence of Professor Franciszek Ziejka, Rector of the Jagiellonian University in the years 1999-2005.
Six years later, at the request of the College’s Senate, the Minister of Science and Higher Education made Stanisław Pigoń the patron of Krosno State College. Pigoń was a scholar, a hard-working, reliable, and righteous man, a professor at the universities of Poznań, Vilnius and Kraków, a teacher, but also a soldier, who served his homeland in times of war.
At the initial stage, the idea of establishing a Humanities Institute grew out of a teachers’ college which offered pedagogical and Polish studies, and later on, also foreign philology. At this stage of the development of the Krosno Humanities Institute, an important role was played by Professor Halina Kurek, the academic supervisor of the Stanisław Pigoń Polish Language College in Krosno (1992 – 2000), Dean of the Faculty of Philology at the Jagiellonian University from 1999 to 2005. A significant role was also played by a Polonist, social activist, and educator, Franciszek Tereszkiewicz, M.A., who served as the Director at the Teacher Training College in Krosno from August 1992 to July 1999.
The Institute of Humanities has been included in the institution’s structure from the very beginning. In addition to the original two basic organisational units of the Institute: The Department of Polish Studies and the Department of Pedagogy, the following departments were subsequently established: English Philology, German Philology, Russian Philology and Translation Studies. The dynamically changing environment, social and didactic challenges, as well as the organisational needs of the institution, have resulted in a reorganization of the Institute and establishing three Departments: English Philology, Pedagogy, and Dual-language Studies.
The Institute was headed by the Polish language scholar Professor Janusz Gruchała, who was also the Rector of the Krosno State College between 2004 and 2012 (currently he is Head of the Department of Philology at the Jagiellonian University); English philologist Professor Władysław Witalisz (later Vice-Rector for Development at Krosno State College in the years 2004-2012, currently the Vice-Dean of the Philology Department of the Jagiellonian University), Polish language scholar Professor Kazimierz Sikora (Head of the Institute from 2004 to 2012), English philologist Professor Władysław Chłopicki (Head of the Institute from 2012-2016), and Russian language scholar Doctor Bartosz Gołąbek (Head of the Institute in the years 2016 to 2022). In 2022, the position of the Head of the Institute was taken over by English language scholar and translator Doctor Joanna Ziobro. The former Rector of the institution and Russian language scholar, Professor Grzegorz Przebinda, has also been a lecturer in the Institute.
Among the most important achievements in the Institute’s activities, in addition to the teaching and research work of its academic staff, are many initiatives to popularise teaching in the broadest sense, knowledge of foreign languages, as well as the culture and tradition of the Polish language.
An important event was the National Congress Modern Humanities, held in the Krosno State College, and organised on 13-14 May 2015 by the Institute of Humanities. During the Congress, a reading room named after Pik Mirandola, a Krosno-based writer, translator and prominent humanist, was opened in the Library of the Krosno State College.
The Institute also organises academic conferences, including the most long-standing international Across Borders Conference, which has been held every two years since 2004 in Krosno or in a foreign academic centre, in Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia or the United States. The Institute is also a patron of various workshops addressed at secondary school students, such as the Translation Workshop (11 editions have already been held), the Spanish Days (held for the fifth time in 2023) or the International Day of Languages in September. The Institute also cares about preschoolers and primary school students – the teachers and students regularly organise St. Nicholas’ Day for them.
