Stanislaw Ryszard Radosz (Stas Radosz)Executive Director of The Polish Center of Discovery and Learning at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts
by Joseph M. Topor Jr., Massachusetts
Stas Radosz, as he is best known by friends and associates is an outstanding and generous individual who currently is the Executive Director of The Polish Center of Discovery and Learning at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts where he has dedicated his efforts and passion towards the success and growth of a center which would celebrate the contributions of the Polish people to the economy, arts, and sciences of New England.
The programs, activities, exhibits and lectures he has arranged since 1998 have been so popular that the center has outgrown its original center. Individuals supporting the center and its mission are currently in the process or renovating an 18 room building, which will serve as a museum and cultural center. Stas has been the catalyst behind this grand endeavor.
Stas Radosz is a graduate of Indiana University with a BA, in Slavic Studies. He received his M.A. at the same University in Slavic Studies and Library Science. He is fluent in Polish and proficient in Russian. He has received two awards of recognition for his work in Polish affairs from the Polish American Congress of Western Massachusetts and the Kosciuszko Foundation, New England Chapter.
From 1967 to 1998 he served as Slavic Bibliographer and Coordinator for Collection Development at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where his job was to select and evaluate books, periodicals and newspapers dealing with East Central Europe. During his tenure at the University, he served on the Committee on Slavic and East European Studies.
On occasion he also served as special advisor to students working on Polish subject honors papers at Smith College and Hampshire College. His continuing role at Amherst consisted of teaching of Polish and the designing of a course aimed at introducing students to the contributions of the Polish nation to both European and American societies.
For all the devotion and energy Stas Radosz has expended over the years to acquaint both young and older students about the history and rich culture of the Polish people, special recognition should be given. His personal efforts to increase the visibility and prestige of the Polish Center of Discovery and Learning at Elms College are most commendable.
From: Polish Cultural Club of Greater Hartford, 2006