Dr. Jan SADLAK  

Dr. Jan Sadlak has more than twenty-five years of experience in the field of higher education, international relations and economics. He had a number of high level positions in international organizations as well as teaching and research positions in leading universities and research institutions in Poland, Romania, Canada and the United States. He has extensive record of publications on higher education and science policy [see attached list of publications]. He is a member of the editorial boards of the leading journals in the field of higher education and social policy, among them Higher Education Management [published by OECD].

His research interests and publications cover such topics as processes of reform and transformation in higher education and science policy, organization of doctoral studies and qualifications, private higher education, “world-class university”, quality assurance and university ranking, ethical dimension of higher education and academic values.

He has been Director of UNESCO-European Centre for Higher Education (UNESCO-CEPES) and Representative of UNESCO in Romania [1999 – July 2009]. Prior to this position he was Chief of Section for Higher Education Policy at UNESCO, Paris [1992 – 1999].

He holds a PhD (1988) in Educational Administration and Comparative Education from the SUNY/ University of Buffalo, USA, and a M.A. (1968) in Economics from “Oskar Lange” Academy of Economics in Wrocław, Poland.

In September 2009, he was appointed by the Pope Benedict XVI as Member of the Board of Directors of Agenzia della Santa Sede per la Valutazione e la Promozione della Qualità e Facoltà Ecclesiastiche (AVEPRO) [the Holy See’s Agency for Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties]. In addition, he is a member of the governing and advisory boards of various organizations such as; ESMU-European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities, Belgium, and the Scientific Board of the Higher Education Management Program at the Danube University Krems, Austria.

He is currently Vice-Rector for International Cooperation at the Warsaw Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities (SWPS) [www.swps.pl]. He is a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of European Studies of the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

In October 2009, he has been elected as the President of the IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence.