On the new quality of education - the importance of elite classical universities in Poland

Ordo Iuris

· In recent weeks, at the invitation of the Ordo Iuris Institute and Collegium Intermarium, Canadian lawyer Professor Jane Adolphe visited Poland.

· Her stay ended with a press conference, during which the topic of the functioning of elite classical universities in Poland was discussed.

· Representatives of Collegium Intermarium talked about the achievements of their institution and the inspiration they draw from the functioning of such universities abroad.

· During the conference, it was emphasized that universities such as CI are a response to the problem of mass education and the resulting reduction in the level of education.

· Prof. Adolphe pointed out that Collegium Intermarium is a place that provides a personalized approach to students and thus it is possible to develop the talents of each student.

The conference was an opportunity to discuss the educational model in Poland. The speakers presented the problems that affect mass universities and pointed to the possibilities of solving them flowing from the activities of elite classical universities. Using the example of Collegium Intermarium, they talked about the system of classical education, based on a direct relationship between lecturer and student.

- Groups of a dozen or so full-time students is what we want to achieve every year. We are not interested in building a mass university that accepts very many students. The high quality of education at Collegium Intermarium must go hand in hand with the ability to take an individual approach to our students and listeners," noted Dr. Bartosz Lewandowski, rector of Collegium Intermarium.

During the conference, examples of universities on which Collegium Intermarium models itself were also given. These are American colleges pursuing the classic model of an elite university. Institutions such as Ave Maria School of Law, Magdalen College of Liberal Arts, University of Notre Dame and Thomas Aquinas College, despite the passage of many years since their inception, continue to remain small universities. However, they have a recognized reputation and influence public debate in the US.

Dr. Filip Ludwin, dean of CI, spoke about the Intermarium College's plans.

- We will invite ten prominent experts from abroad to help our university develop and guide our future activities. The goal of this program is to improve the quality of our teaching, academic and research activities. We believe that we are able to bring much new to the Polish academic world," he noted.

Prof. Jane Adolphe appreciated the way Collegium Intermarium operates.

- A mission with an emphasis on truth, beauty and goodness demonstrates a commitment to a deeply rooted intellectual tradition, which in turn allows students to make a rich study of natural and positive law. Collegium Intermarium is an academic institution that I highly recommend to those seeking a solid education, free from the constraints of mass formation of students in the spirit of currently prevailing ideologies," she stressed.

Prof. Jane Adolphe is a lawyer specializing in international and international law and human rights. She is a professor at Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Florida, and an adjunct professor at Notre Dame University School of Law in Sydney, Indiana. From 1998 to 2001, as legal advisor to non-governmental organizations, she participated in UN conferences on women's, children's and youth rights and International Criminal Court cases. She worked at the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. She is the author or co-author of many books, including "Sexual misconduct among clergy: an interdisciplinary analysis" (2020). In it, she recounts, among other things, her efforts that led to the Vatican's investigation of sexual abuse cases uncovered by journalists in 2017.