Bronius Vaškelis
Garbės profesorius / Honorary Professor (Suteiktas vardas 1998-05-14)
Theatrologist and literary critic Prof. Bronius Vaškelis served as the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Vice-Rector of VMU in 1992, and as Rector from 1993 to 1996. From 1997 to 2003, he was the founder and Head of the Department of Theatre Studies at the Institute of Arts, and in 2009, he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus. He was a member of the Re-establishment Senate (1989-1996) and the Senate (1996-2010). He was awarded the 5th Degree Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas for his merits to Lithuania.
He was born on 14 November 1922, in the village of Puodžiai, Utena district. After emigrating from Lithuania, he studied at the University of Toronto and the University of Pennsylvania. In 1963, he began teaching Russian literature at Lafayette College and became the Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages in 1966, a position he held until 1981. In 1975, he became a professor. In 1984, he started working in the Department of Lithuanian Studies at the University of Illinois, where he served as Head of the Department until 1992, when he returned to Lithuania.
He was interested in drama, Lithuanian literature, and Lithuanian diaspora theatre, and wrote over 100 scientific articles. His studies were published in books such as “Baltic Drama” (1981), “Ethnic Theatre in the United States” (1983), and “Lietuvių egzodo literatūra 1945–1990” (Lithuanian Exodus Literature 1945–1990) (1992). He also compiled and edited the books “Lituanistikos instituto suvažiavimo darbai” (Proceedings of the Institute of Lithuanian Studies) (1979), “Algirdas Jakševičius – teatro poetas” (Algirdas Jakševičius – the Poet of Theater) (1999), “Teatrologijos eskizai” (Outline of Theatre Research) (vol. 1, 2002, vol. 2, 2004), “Žvilgsnis iš atokiau, I dalis” (Glimpse from a Distance, Part I) (2004), and “Žvilgsnis iš atokiau. Lietuviškoji scena Jungtinėse Amerikos Valstijose 1889–1990, II dalis” (Glimpse from a Distance. The Lithuanian Scene in the United States, 1889-1990, Part II) (2006). In 2003, he was awarded the Balys Sruoga Prize for his contributions to Lithuanian theatre studies.
Prof. Bronius Vaškelis was the chair of the editorial board of the scientific journal “Teatrologiniai eskizai” (Outline of Theatre Research), a member of the editorial boards of the journals “Meno istorija ir kritika” (Art History and Criticism), “Lietuvos scena” (Lithuanian Scene), and “Lituanus”, and a member of the Lithuanian Writers’ Union.
Based on information provided by VMU Library.
Prof. Vaškelis’ book presentation
On 9 November, at VMU Aula Magna (Gimnazijos g. 7), the book presentation of “Žvilgsnis iš atokiau. III dalis” (A Glimpse from a Distance. Part III) by Prof. Bronius Vaškelis, Honorary Professor, former Rector, and member of VMU Re-establishment Senate, took place on the occasion of the professor’s 90th birthday.
The collection of articles “A Glimpse from a Distance” by literary critic and theatrologist Prof. Bronius Vaškelis invites readers to explore his articles on Lithuanian literature and theatre, both published and unpublished in diaspora and Lithuanian periodicals.
