"Muzi nestarnou"

According to this Czech saying, "men don't age". This conclusion is certainly true about two SVU personalities who have reached the venerable age of eighty and seventy, i.e., Zdenek Slouka and Jaroslav Folta, respectively.

Zdenek Slouka, a political scientist of world repute, who held a number of distinguished university positions, including the Cohen Chair of International Law and Relations at Lehigh University, has now returned to his first love - journalism. After World War II till 1948, he was Editor of Svobodne (Lidove) noviny and later, after coming to the US, he became a commentator for Radio Free Europe. Even though he has lived abroad for many years, he has retained his superb knowledge of Czech style and idiom and, in my opinion, he writes far better than any of his contemporaries who have lived in the Czechlands all their lives.

I have known Zdenek for many years, probably since the early seventies when he lived in Washington or maybe even earlier. I remember him frequently visiting me in the State Department and AID where I then worked. This was the beginning of our close friendship.

After the demise of communism, Zdenek resigned his prestigious position of Director of the Lehigh University's Institute for International Relations which he founded so that he could devote all his energies to assisting the new democratic Czechoslovakia. Simultaneously he became very active in SVU, starting as its Vice President in 1990. After a year, he relinquished the post to accept the appointment of the first Executive Director of the newly established SVU Research Institute. In this capacity he fostered collaboration between the US and the Czech and Slovak universities and also found financial resources for organizing a series of seminars and workshops. I had the privilege of participating with Zdenek in a number of these workshops relating to the art of writing grant proposals and the "grantsmaship", in general, which we organized at Charles University, the Academy of Sciences, Masaryk University, Safarik University and elsewhere. These workshops, which belong to the best years of my life, played an important role in bringing the Czech and Slovak scientists and scholars on par with their counterparts in the Western world.

With such credentials, it was only natural that Zdenek Slouka was elected President of SVU in 1992-94. Had it not been for his sudden illness he would have been most certainly elected for another period.

He now lives in Prague with his lovely wife Blanka and spends his time writing editorials, feuilletons, political analyses and whatever strikes his fancy. Talking about Blanka, my wife Eva had the pleasure of actually arranging their marriage during one of their short stays in the Washington area. Perhaps, it is time for renewal of their vows We are ready and waiting. Mnoga ljeta Zivijo!

Jaroslav Folta, a mathematician and science historian, who has been in charge of the department of history science and technology at the National Technical Museum in Prague, is still working, busily organizing conferences and editing their proceedings.

I have known Jarda, as he likes to be called, for a long time, could it thirty-five years or so? I was then employed by NIH and apart from my official responsibilities, I became keenly interested in history of science, especially Czechoslovak science and that's how I came in contact with Dr. Jaroslav Folta who was an officer of the Czechoslovak History of Science and Technology. He was very kind in sending me various materials about which I then periodically wrote abstracts for the periodical Isis.. As a "reward" I sent him a copy of the SVU publication, The Czechoslovak Contribution to World Culture which I edited. We then lost contact with each other.

On my first trip to Czechoslovakia after the Velvet Revolution in 1990, I made sure to get in contact with Dr. Folta. It was fortuitous, as Jarda subsequently helped me a lot in making contacts with various Czech and Slovak scientists and institutions. I remember how proudly he took me to their Society's small office to show me our "precious" book that I sent him many years before and which they kept safely during the communist era under lock and key.

Dr. Folta was instrumental in getting me in touch with the Council of Czechoslovak Societies, especially Prof. Jaroslav Valenta, with whose help we then organized the first SVU Congress in Prague in 1992 and another in 1994. Dr. Folta played a pivotal role in both congresses. It was also he who arranged a trip for me and my family to Slovakia where I met leading scientists associated with the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

Jarda is not a headline man. He prefers to stay behind the scenes, do all the work, while others get the credit. Albeit almost invisible, in my mind, he is the most active and most dependable person I ever met on the territory of Czechoslovakia. I am glad I can count him among my closest friends. Mnoga ljeta!

Miloslav Rechcigl
SVU President

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