Professor Emerita Barbara Zakrzewska Borowiecki passes away
- Obituary – In Memory of Barbara Zakrzewska Borowiecki
Professor Emerita of Geography Barbara Zakrzewska Borowiecki died on March 18, 2016. Born in Warsaw, Poland on November 20, 1924, Barbara joined the Geography Department at UW-Milwaukee (UWM) in 1960, and remained a member of the UWM faculty for 32 years, retiring in 1992.
Prof. Borowiecki played a pivotal role in the acquisition and transfer of the American Geographical Society (AGS) Map Collection to the Golda Meir Library at UWM in 1978. The AGS Map Collection (now AGS Library) is one of the finest cartographic assemblages in the U.S. and one of the most distinguished in existence, with maps dating back to the 1400s. In 2009, Barbara received the Distinguished Samuel Finley Breese Morse Medal for “the encouragement of geographical research” for being instrumental in securing and preserving the AGS Map Collection.
Prof. Borowiecki received her doctoral degree in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was a prolific scholar and teacher, specializing in glacial geomorphology. We, her colleagues, mourn the loss of an outstanding scholar and friend, and wish her spirit eternal peace.