Longin Pastusiak

Former President of Polish Senate teaches at Appalachian State Tuesday, 22 April 2008 by ASHLEY BENNERS Intern Lifestyles Reporter “I am an academic,” history professor Longin Pastusiak said. “I am a politician by accidentally winning the parliamentary elections four times.” Among the many distinguished faculty here at Appalachian State University, Pastusiak, a former president of the Polish senate, is currently teaching American and European perspectives on International Relations in the history department.   When Pastusiak was young, he aspired to be a journalist. “In 1948, when I was in fourth grade, I wrote to the local paper in my hometown of Lotz and asked how one becomes a journalist,” Pastusiak said.  “The newspaper answered ‘In order to become a journalist, you have to finish elementary school, then high school, then journalism school, and if you have talent you will become a journalist.’” However, journalism didn’t turn out to be Pastusiak’s career. “I realized journalism was too superficial for me,” Pastusiak said. “I thought I would rather write books than articles, so I went to work as a researcher at the Polish Institute of International Affairs.”    In 1991, his colleagues told him since he had gone to an American university, he should contribute to building Polish democracy and run for parliament.   At first, Pastusiak decided he was not interested, but then went to Buenos Aires to meet with International Political Science Association (IPSA), and was elected vice president. There, he was convinced to run for parliament as an independent, but still resisted. Finally, Pastusiak chose to run in the most difficult district in Poland. “I had nothing to lose, because I didn’t want to win,” Pastusaik said. But he did win. From 2001 to 2005 he served as the president of the senate, retiring from parliament in 2005.   Pastusiak has been a visiting professor at many universities, but in 1991 in Buenos Aires, he met the chairman of Appalachian.   In 1992, a group of about 40 professors and administrators from Appalachian visited Poland, and the chairman had given the group Pastusiak’s name.   “They called me and I invited them to a session of Parliament because they were interested in Polish politics. They liked my presentation so much that the vice chancellor asked me if I would like to come and teach at [Appalachian],” Pastusiak said. Because Pastusaik was a member of parliament, he was unable to teach during the year, but suggested teaching a class during the summer as an alternative. In 1992, Pastusiak came to teach a summer course at Appalachian, and every summer since, has come back to Boone to teach. “It is like a vacation for me,” Pastusiak said. “The area is beautiful. The human environment is also very nice. People are very friendly and informal here and I like that.” In Poland, Pastusiak said, it would be difficult to come for a lecture without a tie. “I remember the first lecture I came to at ASU in 1992, I wore a suit and tie. During the break period, a girl came up to me and said ‘Dr., people here only dress like you when they are going to a wedding or a funeral.’ So the next day, I took off my tie.”