Solemn Sitting of the Senate

– The 80th anniversary of the Nicolaus Copernicus University is an opportunity to recall its high position as one of the best universities in Poland, a recognised research centre of European repute, providing a thorough and wide-ranging education. Today, however, we wish above all to emphasise our deep ties with the  city in which we operate,' noted prof. dr habil. Andrzej Tretyn, NCU Rector, during a formal sitting of the Senate in the Old Town Square.

A meeting of the Senate in the heart of Toruń's Old Town is one of the events accompanying the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. In order to emphasise the strong relationship between the University and the city, the ceremony was organised on 24 June - the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, Toruń's patron saint.

The ceremony began with a parade led by the Military Band from in front of the Collegium Maximum to the Nicolaus Copernicus Monument, where the NCU Senate representatives laid flowers.

Afterwards, the session began at the Old Town Square. In his speech, Prof. Andrzej Tretyn, NCU Rector reminded us that ceremonial sessions of the Senate - the collegial body of power at the university, making the most important decisions in terms of organisation, finances, personnel and teaching - were held at particularly important moments, emphasising their significance and rank:

With today's meeting we are referring in a special way to the celebratory meeting of the Senate which took place in the courtyard of the Old Town Hall on 23 May 1948, when the first Rector's insignia were presented. Financed by Bydgoszcz craftsmen and presented by the Mayor of Bydgoszcz to the first rector of the NCU, Professor Ludwik Kolankowski, they were not only a symbol of power, but also a symbol of shared pride in the establishment of a university in the Pomerania region, which was to serve our cities and the people of the whole of northern Poland.

The Rector's speech also highlighted the strong ties linking the University with Toruń and the mutual influence of the city and the Academia: - Although the first university staff came largely from other cities, including Vilnius and Lviv, there would be no Nicolaus Copernicus University if it had not been for the will and determination of the citizens of Toruń. Since then, the University has influenced the face and character of the city, and the city has provided excellent conditions for its development. We add to each other's fame, support each other and draw strength from each other. Toruń would be a different city if it did not have a university, but at the same time it leaves its mark on its character, shapes it and gives it unique qualities. The ceremonial meeting of the Senate was an opportunity to present 35 academic staff with promotions to the position of NCU professor. The newly appointed titular professors, meanwhile, received personalised togas, which will be the new custom of honouring them. In this way, during Tuesday's senate, the following were honoured:

• prof. dr habil. Grażyna Dąbrowska from the Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences;
• prof. dr habil. Michał Głuszkowski from Faculty of Humanities;
• prof. dr habil. Marcin Koprowski from the Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences;
• prof. dr habil. Joanna Kulwicka-Kamińska from Faculty of Humanities;
• prof. dr habil. Jarosław Mederski from the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science;
• prof. dr habil. Maria Swiontek Brzezinska from the Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences;
• prof. dr habil. Marek Szymański from the Faculty of Medicine (Collegium Medicum).

Also receiving professorial nomination in the past year were - absent during the ceremony – prof. dr habil. Katharina Boguslawski and prof. dr habil. Piotr Wcisło from the Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, and prof. dr habil. Bartosz Tylkowski from the Faculty of Medicine (Collegium Medicum).

Another important highlight of the event was the official renewal of the doctorate awarded at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in 1975 to prof. dr habil. Aleksander Wolszczan, an outstanding radio astronomer and discoverer of the first extrasolar planets, who for many years was associated with our University. The official renewal of the doctoral degree is an expression of the highest recognition of Prof. Wolszczan's scientific, teaching and organisational achievements, as well as of his contribution to the development of the discipline.

The laudation was given by prof. dr habil. Andrzej Niedzielski from the Institute of Astronomy at the Nicolaus Copernicus University, who emphasised that Prof. Wolszczan's discovery had changed our perception of the Universe:

We have now become not only inhabitants of the third planet from the Sun, as shown by Copernicus, but actually the inhabitants of one of the planetary systems in the Galaxy,' Prof. Niedzielski pointed out. - The report of the discovery of a planetary system at the pulsar, published in Nature, has been recognised as one of the greatest scientific achievements of recent years. According to Prof. Bohdan Paczynski of Princeton University, it was 'the greatest discovery made by a Polish astronomer since Copernicus'.

The ceremony ended with a mini-recital by the Nicolaus Copernicus University Choir and a procession that followed the route of the places important to Nicolaus Copernicus.

In 2025 the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń celebrates its 80th anniversary, and the entire academic year is marked by three anniversaries: in addition to the round anniversary of the establishment of the NCU, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz, as well as the 20th anniversary of its merger with the NCU and the establishment of the Collegium Medicum.