On 25 May 2022, during the 100^th anniversary of the Maria Grzegorzewska University celebrations, the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing received the “Maria Grzegorzewska’s Glasses” award. The Senate of the University bestowed the award in recognition of the Institute’s merits in research and medical innovations and measurable support for people with disabilities and their families.

The award was presented at the Senate meeting on 20 October 2021, the year of the 25^th anniversary of the Institute.

– There is no other center in Poland or modern world medicine that would achieve such a high position in the country and abroad in such a short time. – said prof. Henryk Skarżyński, the founder and long-term director of the Institute, during the jubilee celebration. – This great success resulted from my work and team’s efforts. Thirty years ago, I began preparations for implementing the deafness treatment with cochlear implants program in Poland; I performed many pioneering operations and created the so-called “Polish school of otosurgery” in partial deafness treatment. It was my initiative to establish the World Hearing Center in Kajetany, which currently takes care of more than 12 thousand hearing implant users. More than 4 million tests and consultations have been conducted, and more than 600 thousand surgical procedures have been performed at the Institute.

The award is given to individuals and institutions that are particularly committed to the mission of our University and excel in their activities for people and groups in need of support or socially disadvantaged.

In the past, the “Maria Grzegorzewska’s Glasses” award received such institutions as the Polish Humanitarian Action, Dajemy Dzieciom Siłę Foundation, and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.