Ohio University Press editor recognized for contributions to Polish and Polish American history

The Polish American Historical Association (PAHA) has announced that its 2023 Amicus Poloniae Award winner is Ohio University Press Editor In Chief Rick Huard.

The annual award recognizes significant contributions to enhancing knowledge of Polish and Polish American heritage by individuals not belonging to the Polish American community. As an affiliate of the American Historical Association, PAHA promotes the research and publication of scholarly materials focused on Polish American history and culture as part of the greater Polish diaspora. PAHA presented the award during the American Historical Association’s annual meeting Jan. 4–7 in San Francisco.

Huard’s connection with Poland and the Polish diaspora began in 1990, when he arrived in Warsaw as a Peace Corps volunteer to teach English at a secondary school in the provincial city of Ostrołęka.

“It was still the early years of democracy in Poland: the first Solidarity government, economic shock therapy, as it was then called, and the collapse of the Soviet Union next door,” Huard says. “You can learn something about people when you meet them in good times, but you learn much more about their character in bad times; I learned a lot about Polish character and determination then.”

Upon Huard’s return to the United States, he briefly pursued a career in law before moving to Ohio.

“By sheer chance,” Huard says, “the Press had a then-new series in Polish and Polish American Studies. That is how I got to know our series editor, Wayne State University History Professor John J. Bukowczyk, and it has been a pleasure working with him to develop the series over the ensuing two decades.”

The award-winning Polish and Polish American Studies Series, which consists of 19 titles to date, revisits the historical and contemporary experience of one of America’s largest ethnic groups and the history of a European homeland that has played an important role in twentieth-century world affairs. Former Press director Gillian Berchowitz was instrumental in getting the series off the ground in 2002 and received the Amicus Poloniae Award in 2005.

“Anything I’ve done to deserve this award was not done alone,” Huard says. “It was a team effort, starting with John and Gillian and including my colleagues in the acquisitions, editorial, production, and marketing departments at the Ohio University Press. I look forward to continuing the book series with PAHA.”

Incorporated in 1947 and formally organized in 1964 by Ohio University president Vernon Alden, the Press is the oldest scholarly publisher in the state. Since its founding, the Press (including its trade imprint, Swallow Press) has developed into a leading publisher of books about Africa, Appalachia, Poland, Southeast Asia, and the American Midwest, as well as on many other topics. From academic monographs to regional guides to internationally acclaimed literary works, its books have established the Press as an essential member of its many communities: scholarly, literary, and geographic. Learn more at ohioswallow.com.