EVA PAWLIK PROMOVIERT ZUM DOKTOR PHILOSOPHIAE
EVA PAWLIK EARNS A PH.D.

Eva Pawlik war die erste Frau in der Geschichte der Universität Wien, welche bei einer Promotionsfeier die lateinischen Dankesworte sprach, die immer ein Promovend stellvertretend für alle Promovenden an den Rektor, den Dekan und den Promotor richtet  ("Pro collato honore et dignitate gradus gratias innumeras agimus."). Die Eiskunstläuferin promovierte am 23. Dezember 1954 zum Doktor der Philosophie (Deutsch - Englisch). 

Zuvor hatte sie, ebenfalls an der Universität Wien, Medizin studiert und das Vorklinikum erfolgreich abgeschlossen. Die Praktika des Klinikums jedoch ließen sich zeitlich nur schwer mit den Revue-Tourneen vereinbaren. So wechselte Pawlik von der medizinischen zur philosophischen Fakultät und begann, Germanistik und Anglistik zu studieren. In ihrer Dissertation befasste sie sich mit der Lyrik Stephan Milows, eines banatdeutschen Dichters und Zeitgenossen Ferdinands von Saar.

Von 1973 bis kurz vor ihrem Tod im Jahr 1983 unterrichtete Eva Pawlik Deutsch und Englisch an einem Wiener Mädchengymnasium (Gymnasium der Dominikanerinnen).

Information in English:

Eva Pawlik studied medicine from 1945 to 1949 and successfully passed the examinations before the clinical curriculum. After having turned pro as a figure skater, however, she switched from the medical to the philosophical department of the University of Vienna in 1949 because being on tour with the ice revue and doing practical medical training at the same time were not compatible. Of her two passions, medicine and figure skating, the latter had won.  

 

Eva Pawlik began to study German (major subject) and English. The topic of her dissertation was „Stephan Milow´s lyrics“ (Stephan Milow was a poet who was born in 1836 in the Banat and who died in 1915 in Austria). In 1954, she earned her Ph.D.

 

Eva Pawlik was the first WOMAN in the history of the University of Vienna to speak – representatively for all candidates - the Latin words of gratitude towards the representatives of the University in an academic ceremony in which doctor´s degrees were awarded („Pro collato honore et dignitate gradus gratias innumeras agimus“ which means „We are very grateful for the awarded honor and dignity of the academic degree.“). By then, the Latin words had always been spoken by males.

 


 

 

From 1973 until 1982, Eva Pawlik was a teacher in German and English in a secondary school (pupils from 10 to 18). As she had always had a good feeling of how to communicate knowledge to young people she wanted to make use of her Ph.D. and searched for a job as a teacher when her son had become older and no longer needed her care all the time. She found the job in 1973.

 

 

 

The rector of the University of Vienna, Johannes Radon,
congratulates Eva Pawlik on her Ph.D. (Salzburger Nachrichten, December 24th, 1954).

Eva Pawlik was awarded her Ph.D. on December 23rd, 1954. It was only from the summer of 1954 until the end of that year that she interrupted her show career, leaving the Vienna Ice Revue and starring for the Scala Ice Revue after successfully finishing her academic education.

In 1963, Eva Pawlik became the first female sportscaster on TV. Im Jahr 1963 wurde Eva Pawlik die erste TV-Sportkommentatorin. 
TV-Kommentatorin Dr. Eva Pawlik

 

 

 
Anecdote:
In 1982 (when Pawlik was already severly ill), a class that had just passed the Matura dedicated its „Maturazeitung“ to its former German and English teacher Eva Pawlik.
 
The Matura is the examination that authorizes a man or a woman to study at a University. The „Maturazeitung“ is a sort of journal produced by the students who have just passed the Matura, describing the students and the teachers, including school events of the past, thoughts about the future and so on. (It is perhaps similar to a high school yearbook in the United States, though only devoted to students of a single year.)
 
On the first page of this „Maturazeitung“ there was a photo showing Eva Pawlik performing an Axel Paulsen at the 1948 Olympics with the headline: „The day of the silvery Eva on ice“.
 

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