Czechoslovak Room Committee

Czechoslovak Room Committee The Czechoslovak Room Committee maintains the Czechoslovak Nationality Room and sponsor study abroad and Pitt scholarships. Intarsia done by V.

The Czechoslovak Classroom combines elements of a Slovak farmhouse, country church, and the Charles University in Prague while detailing men who contributed to Czechoslovak culture. The motto of the classroom is "Pravda Vítězí" which translates to "Truth Will Prevail" and surrounds a bronze relief portrait of the first President and founder of Czechoslovakia Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. In a wrought-ir

on case near the window bay, a letter penned by the hand of Masaryk to students at the University of Pittsburgh recalls John Amos Comenius' belief that "education is the workshop of humanity". All woodwork, except the furniture, is made of larch wood which grows to great heights in the Carpathian Mountains. The ceiling, with flat boards overlapping each other between heavy beams, is painted by Prague artists Karel and Marie Svolinsky and depicts botanically accurate flowers and plants of Czechoslovak and reflects a typical Slovak farmer's home and the style of country churches. A "tree of life" design on the rear wall surrounds the text of the proclamation by King of Bohemia and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Charles IV that marked the founding of the University of Prague in 1348. The plaster reveals of the bay window area is decorated by murals of miraculous trees bearing flowers and fruits and harboring animals, birds, and insects reflecting "peasant writings" and executed by the artists in freehand. Ceiling panels portray eight famous persons in Czech and Slovak history from the 9th through 19th centuries including Cyril and Methodius who created the Cyrillic alphabet, Vaclav who was the "Good King Wenceslaus" of the Christmas Carol, Jan Hus who was a champion of Czech religious freedom, Jan Amos Komensky who often considered the father of modern education, Jan Kollar a Slovak poet who called for Slavic unity, Ľudovít Štúr who developed the Slovak literary language, and Bishop Stefan Moyzes who pioneered popular education in Slovakia. Kopka of Moravia are found on the entrance door panels and the professor's desk and lectern which depicts university academic disciplines. Embroidery, lace, Bohemian crystal, and historical documents are displayed in the wall cabinet.

On Sunday, March 22, 2026, the Nationality and Intercultural Exchange Programs at the University of Pittsburgh hosted a ...
03/24/2026

On Sunday, March 22, 2026, the Nationality and Intercultural Exchange Programs at the University of Pittsburgh hosted a gala celebration marking the 100th Anniversary of the Nationality Rooms creation.

Coincidentally, our beautiful Czechoslovak Nationality Room was dedicated on March 7, 1939, on President Masaryk’s birthday and a week before the N***s invaded Czechoslovakia. His son Jan Masaryk gave the dedication speech: ….”May I say, that I thank you, that you have given this safe corner to the memory of the first President of Czechoslovakia, that the principles he lived for are safe in your gentle firm hands. …..
how proud I was this morning to walk into this Cathedral of Learning where I have seen rooms belonging to many nations and where I saw proud American children of parentage of these countries, inbibing in the free unbiased truth of learning. I am going to pray to God tonight that Europe some day will be like that - that we will be men and women of this or the other nationality or parentage or race or creed, but working together for the common good of ourselves and those who come after us……”

On March 1, Slovak journalist and stand-up comedian Tomas Hudak, spoke at the University of Pittsburgh. His subject was...
03/06/2026

On March 1, Slovak journalist and stand-up comedian Tomas Hudak, spoke at the University of Pittsburgh. His subject was the “Amerikani”, Slovaks who came to the U.S. to work, save their wages, then return to their homeland.

Largely unused to industrial employment, they often found work as unskilled labor in Steel mills or mining. They were able to adapt to the demands of those new jobs and their inherent dangers.

What they did not get used to was the smoke, smell, and pollution of the mills. This contrasted greatly with the environment in Slovak farmlands. At times, the women who managed their boarding houses might serve as a surrogate mother figure. But they missed their own.

When “Amerikani” returned to their families, they had been changed. They had money to buy their own homes and land. They were no longer dependent on priests to help make their decisions. The women expected more influence at home and the community. Even their language had changed with the introduction of English words and phases. Even though communism eventually confiscated much of their property, the cultural changes survived.

02/27/2026
Join us 1pm ET Sun March 1 in 113 Cathedral of Learning and via Zoom (ID: 992 2390 4410, passcode: 740949) for our annua...
02/27/2026

Join us 1pm ET Sun March 1 in 113 Cathedral of Learning and via Zoom (ID: 992 2390 4410, passcode: 740949) for our annual Spring meeting, featuring a current Pitt graduate student discussing recent work on the committee's archives!
And stay afterward for Kukucka lecture in Cathedral 332 at 2:30 pm!

02/06/2026

Narrated by Chairperson Joanna Getting Spontak

Coming March 1!
02/06/2026

Coming March 1!

01/17/2026

A brief introduction....

New in 2026... Instagram! Help welcome the Room to the 21st century!
01/01/2026

New in 2026... Instagram! Help welcome the Room to the 21st century!

0 Followers, 2 Following, 0 Posts

12/21/2025

After more than 230 years, the US stopped minting the penny this week. But long before that, the first dollar was coined – and it was created in a one-road town far away from the USA.

10/29/2025
09/26/2025

Theatrical Script Solicitation,
University of Pittsburgh Czechoslovak Nationality Room

September 2025

The University of Pittsburgh’s Czechoslovak Nationality Room Committee welcomes submissions of full-length scripts for production by the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Theatre Arts during the 2026-7 academic year. Submissions are requested by Friday, October 31, 2025.

Scripts should be in English and: (a) written by a living Czech playwright, and/or (b) about a Czech or Czechoslovak topic. Submissions will be reviewed by the Department of Theatre Arts’ Season Selection Committee, which will select the play to produce. The playwright of the work that is selected for production will be invited to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA), for a portion of rehearsals and the opening weekend of performances, with travel and lodging expenses covered by the Czechoslovak Nationality
Room Committee via the John and Jarmila Maiorana Foundation Trust. Other special events will be arranged during the playwright’s visit, such as talkbacks and class visits. Future performance rights remain the playwrights’, and show dates are negotiable.

Please send to Committee Chairperson Joanna Getting Spontak at [email protected]:
• Playwright’s email and phone contact information,
• Synopsis that lists all characters and if specific actor genders are required, and
• Full text of the script (PDF or Microsoft Word format).

All submissions will receive replies, with the selected playwright notified by January 1, 2026.

Address

4200 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA
15260

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Czechoslovak Room Committee posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The University

Send a message to Czechoslovak Room Committee:

Shortcuts

Share

Category