U.S. Lithuanian Donation: €100,000 Subfund at VU Foundation Honours Prominent Lithuanian Diplomat

U.S.-based philanthropist Juozas Sidas Sidzikauskas has donated €100,000 to the Endowment Fund of Vilnius University (VU). From these funds, a sub-fund has been established in the name of the prominent interwar Lithuanian diplomat Vaclovas Sidzikauskas (1893–1973). The investment returns of this sub-fund will ensure ongoing financing for a named award and other initiatives at the VU Faculty of History.

J. Sidas Sidzikauskas has consistently preserved the memory of his uncle, the well-known interwar Lithuanian lawyer, diplomat, and public figure Vaclovas Sidzikauskas (1893–1973). At the initiative of the benefactor and in cooperation with historian and diplomat Vytautas Žalys, the memoirs of V. Sidzikauskas, “On the Margins of Lithuanian Diplomacy” (original Lithuanian title: „Lietuvos diplomatijos paraštėje“), were published in 1994. In 2017, the Vaclovas Sidzikauskas Award was established at the VU Faculty of History.

“In 2017, while I was still dean of the Faculty of History, I received a generous offer from the donor to support the faculty and historical research. During our personal meeting, I sensed a deep interest in Lithuania’s past and present. We agreed to direct the support toward the areas most in need of resources. Since then, Juozas Sidas has been a continuous donor to the Faculty of History, and thanks to his contributions, we have been able to implement many important initiatives and encourage members of our community,” says VU Rector Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas.

The investment returns of the newly established sub-fund will ensure the continued financing of the named award and its potential for growth in the future. The Vaclovas Sidzikauskas Award is given annually to researchers for significant contributions to historical scholarship. Among its laureates are National Culture and Arts Award winner Prof. Marija Drėmaitė, VU Rector’s Award recipient Prof. Arūnas Streikus, well-known historians Dr Norbertas Černiauskas, Dr Tomas Vaiseta, and others.

Vaclovas Sidzikauskas. Photo from the National Digital Archive.

“We are very pleased and grateful for this financial support, which has already become a tradition of the Faculty of History. This support is aimed at strengthening the internationalisation of the faculty’s research. It helps scholars prepare significant research publications in reputable foreign publishing houses and opens these works to the broader academic community. Each year, during the graduation ceremony of the Faculty of History held at St. John’s Church, students and their families, who attend in large numbers, also hear this meaningful story of support. The laureate of the Vaclovas Sidzikauskas Award congratulates the graduates on behalf of the faculty,” says Dean of the Faculty of History, Assoc. Prof. Loreta Skurvydaitė.

Since 2017, J. S. Sidzikauskas has provided over €200,000 in support to the VU Faculty of History. Over nearly a decade, this philanthropic support has become an important driver of the faculty’s research dissemination and internationalisation; it has enabled ideas to cross linguistic and national boundaries by funding translations of monographs and articles, publishing activities, and their placement in foreign publishing houses. The donations have also contributed to international conferences, increased visibility of the academic community, and communication in the international arena.

Vaclovas Sidzikauskas (1893–1973) was a Lithuanian lawyer and prominent diplomat. He studied law in Moscow and Bern. From 1919 to 1934, he held various diplomatic positions in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, and at the League of Nations, and also represented Lithuania in cases in The Hague. He taught, led organisations, and contributed to the press. He participated in the 1932 case in The Hague, in which a favourable decision for Lithuania regarding the Klaipėda Region was issued. After the war, he was active in the Lithuanian diaspora political movement, led the Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania, and participated in the activities of the Lithuanian Freedom Committee. From 1950, he lived in the United States.

Sub-fund: https://vuf.lt/en/subfunds/sidzikauskas/