POPIEL Jacek

Born on 1 August 1954 in Krakow; son of the zootechnical engineer and long-term director of the Zator Agricultural College Kazimierz Popiel, and the bookkeeper Maria. In 1957, he and his family moved to Tłuczań, near Wadowice, before moving to Palczowice, near Zator, in 1965, where he attended primary school. Between 1969 and 1973, he was a pupil at the E. Zegadłowicz Grammar School (now named after M. Wadowita) in Wadowice. He graduated with a degree in Polish philology in 1977 followed by a postgraduate certificate in journalism in 1978, both from the Jagiellonian University (UJ) in Krakow. He was appointed to a position at the Chair of Theatre and Drama at UJ in 1977, before working at the Ludwik Solski State Theatre School (PWST; which in 2017 was renamed the Stanisław Wyspiański AST National Academy of Theatre Arts) between 1978 and 1980. He made his debut with a review of the performance Z biegiem lat, z biegiem dni (Over the years, over the days), which was staged at the Helena Modrzejewska Old Theatre in Krakow. His theatre review appeared in "Magazyn Kulturalny" (no. 1, 1979). From 1979 to 1988, he was the representative of the group research assistants and assistant professors at the Council of the Philosophy Faculty at UJ. From 1984 to 1989, he was the representative of the dean of the student affairs at the Philosophy Faculty. In 1985, he was awarded a doctorate in humanities for his dissertation Sztuka dramatyczna Karola Huberta Rostworowskiego (Karol Hubert Rostworowski's playwriting), which was supervised by Prof. Jan Błoński ↑. His research focused on the history of Polish theatre and plays from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century and on the history of theatre schools. He also produced critical scholarly editions of plays. His scholarly articles and reviews appeared in journals including "Życie Literackie" (1979), "Twórczość" (1979–81, 1983–84, and 1986), "Magazyn Kulturalny" (1979, 1981, and 1983), "Ruch Literacki" (1980–81, 1984, and 1986), "Tygodnik Powszechny" (1986), and "Pamiętnik Literacki" (1990). From 1990 to 1993, he was Dean of the Faculty of Acting at the Krakow PWST, before serving as vice rector from 1994 to 1996 and then rector from 1996 to 2002. He was awarded a habilitation degree from UJ in literary studies (theatre studies) in 1995 for his study Dramat a teatr polski dwudziestolecia międzywojennego (Plays and Polish interwar theatre). From 1999 to 2002, he was deputy president of the Rectors' Conference of Arts Universities. He was one of the founding members of the Theatre Seasons Association (Stowarzyszenie Sezony Teatralne, 2001). In 2002, he was appointed associate professor at UJ. From 2002 to 2005, he served as director of the Institute of Polish Philology and then from 2012 as dean of the Faculty of Polish Studies at UJ. In 2002 and again from 2009 to 2020, he was Chair of Drama and Theatre at UJ. He was the founder and artistic director of the Dramaty Narodów (National Dramas) Theatre Festival (1st edition – Polish romantic drama – 2005, 2nd – Wyspiański 2007 Festival, 3rd – Słowacki 2009 Festival). He was appointed professor of the humanities in 2007. He served on the Committee on Literary Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) from 2007 to 2023. From 2011 to 2014, he served on the Board of the National Programme for the Development of the Humanities. He was one of the founders of the International Association of Polish Studies, with efforts to register it lasting from 2006 to 2011. In 2012, he was made a full professor at UJ. In 2020, he was appointed vice rector of human resources and finances at UJ. From 2012, he chaired the Chapter of the Stanisław Wyspiański theatre prize. He was elected to a further term lasting to 2026. He became a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (PAU) in 2019. During this period, he published articles in the periodicals and journals "Alma Mater" (1998, 2004–06, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2020–22), "Didaskalia" (2005) and "Przestrzenie Teorii" (2017). He was elected rector of UJ in 2020. Starting that year, he served as deputy chair of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (KRASP), as well as chairing the College of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions in Krakow and the Council of the National Pantheon Foundation (Rada Fundacji Panteon Narodowy). He also joined the Council of the Wawel Royal Castle Museum. In 2021, he joined the Strategic Council of the President of the City of Krakow and the Council of the Labour and Development Plan at the Ministry of Development and Technology. In 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. He was twice awarded the individual prize of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (in 1991 and 2002), as well as receiving the PWST Medal in 2004, the Prize of the Marshall of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship at the 44th International Monodrama Festival in Wroclaw (WROSTJA) in 2010, and the French Prix Jean-Paul II Europe Chretienne (awarded by the Europe Chretienne Society of Secular Catholics) in 2015. He is the recipient of various honours, including the Medal of the Commission of National Education (1996), the Silver Cross of Merit (2002), the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2008), and the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2012). He lives in Krakow. In 1978, he married the literary theorist and literary historian Magdalena, née Pelc; they have two children: Jerzy (b. 1979) and Ewa (b. 1990).