Agnieszka Poczta-Wajda
Agnieszka Poczta-Wajda, a visiting Fulbright Slavic Award recipient from Poland’s Poznan University of Economics and Business, has joined the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures for spring semester 2024. An associate professor in the Department of Macroeconomics and Agricultural Economics at the Poznan University, Poczta-Wajda holds a PhD and DSc (habilitated doctor) in economics.
During her stay at Ohio State as the “Slavic Scholar,” Poczta-Wajda will teach Polish 5194: “Polish Economy, Economic Policy, and Relations with the European Union,” a course that acquaints students with the Polish economy and economic policy while introducing a broader economic perspective into the curriculum. The course will cover theoretical topics in economics and economic policy, complemented by examples, data, and statistics related to the Polish economic landscape. Furthermore, the course will integrate economic and political issues with a cultural studies perspective, including an examination of cinema via a Polish film series.
Poczta-Wajda anticipates that her stay at Ohio State will be an enriching experience for both students and herself. Recognizing the divergence between American and European perspectives on economics and economic policy, she looks forward to engaging in discussions with students and faculty at Ohio State. This exchange of views is expected to broaden her horizons and contribute to new content and methodologies for her research and courses back home.
In her previous work, Poczta-Wajda, an agricultural economist, concentrated on various issues such as the liberalization of trade in agricultural products within the World Trade Organization, agricultural support policies in highly developed countries, income deprivation of farmers, and sustainability issues in small-scale farming. Her current research focuses on the problem of food insecurity at the household level in socially disadvantaged groups, including migrants, minorities, retirees, single parents, and small farmers. Poczta-Wajda notes that this issue is often marginalized in EU countries, including Poland, where it is assumed not to exist due to the perceived national security. In contrast, the approach to this problem in the United States is entirely different.
She hopes that her stay at Ohio State will facilitate connections with agricultural economists, providing insights into applied research methodologies and new trends in studies. Poczta-Wajda expresses openness to collaborative research and teaching projects during her time on campus, please reach out if interested.
Ohio State is one of only three universities in the United States to establish a collaboration with the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission to host a visiting Fulbright Slavic scholar annually. The Polish Fulbright Commission values Ohio State's interest in Poland, with reference to the university’s internationally recognized Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies and the longstanding commitment to the region by the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures. Poczta-Wajda is the third Polish Fulbright scholar at Ohio State. Jaroslaw Szczepański was the inaugural Slavic Scholar in autumn 2021 and Wojciech Lewandowski was on campus in spring 2023 as the second.
For more information about the Fulbright Program at Ohio State please contact Joanna Kukielka-Blaser.