Patrick Vaughan (born 1965) is a professor at

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He was the co-founder of the

MA program in Transatlantic Studies, Jagiellonian University The MA Program in Transatlantic Studies at Jagiellonian University, is a full-time, interdisciplinary graduate program in Krakow, Poland, geared predominantly towards international students. Students pursuing their Master of Arts focus mainly on ...

Early life

Vaughan was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. Vaughan's father was a member of

Al Brightman Horace Albert Brightman (September 22, 1923 – June 10, 1992) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Brightman played for the Boston Celtics of the Basketball Association of America during the 1946–47 season. He served a ...

Seattle University Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate prog ...

nationally ranked basketball teams led by the “

Gold Dust Twins The Gold Dust Twins, the trademark for Fairbank's Gold Dust washing powder products, appeared in printed media as early as 1892. "Goldie" and "Dusty", the original Gold Dust Twins, were often shown doing household chores together. In general us ...

” of Johnny and Ed O’Brien. In 1952 that team defeated the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

in what has been called the most memorable event in Seattle sports history. Vaughan's father missed that game due to military service and heard the news while serving on an aircraft carrier in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. His uncle Daniel Vaughan also served in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

during which he married Courtney Sprague, niece of

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

and the daughter of Admiral

Clifton Sprague Clifton Albert Frederick "Ziggy" Sprague (January 8, 1896 – April 11, 1955) was a World War II-era officer in the United States Navy. Biography Sprague was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and attended the Roxbury Latin School. He entere ...

, hero of the WW2 Battle off Samar, which the author of

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors The nonfiction book ''The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour'' is the first full narrative account of the Battle off Samar, which the book's author, James D. Hornfischer, calls ...

has called "the greatest upset in the history of naval warfare". Vaughan spent his childhood years in the small petroleum town of

Oildale, California Oildale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Oildale is located north-northwest of downtown Bakersfield, at an elevation of . The population was 32,684 at the 2010 census, up from 27,885 at the 2000 cens ...

. In grade school the children's novels '' Escape from Warsaw'' and ''

The Endless Steppe ''The Endless Steppe'' (1968) is a book by Esther Hautzig, describing her and her family's exile to Siberia during Second World War, World War II.Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationPatrick Lencioni who in later years became a best-selling author in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

. Vaughan's older sister could not compete because there were no girls' sports programs; she became an early

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

pioneer and set a high-school girl's long-jump record that has stood for over forty years. In 1980 Vaughan's father accepted a new job in a

geothermal energy Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth's crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions. The high temperature and pres ...

company north of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * Sa ...

, Vaughan became an All-Northern California selection on the first of Coach Tom Bon Figli's Cardinal Newman basketball teams. He was recruited by Bill Trumbo and played summer league for Steve Patterson who was the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

center after

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

and before

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...

. Patterson emphasized the teaching of

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

, especially the idea that college basketball is four years of your life-so you better know how to do something else. Patrick Vaughan studied History and Business Organization at

California State University, Chico California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had ...

. He hosted a popular morning show on the influential KCSC radio station. ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' magazine selected it as the best

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

radio station in the United States. KCSC was a cable station, allowing it a creative air play while serving as a midpoint for then-obscure bands such as the

Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Art, ...

and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

traveling between

and San Francisco. KCSC staff member Amy Finnerty (host of the show after Vaughan) has been credited with successfully pushing Nirvana's "

Smells Like Teen Spirit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, ''Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. The unexpected success of the song propelled ''Neve ...

" video on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

executives, helping to spark the popular

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

music era of the 1990s. The writer

Matt Olmstead Matt Olmstead is an American writer and producer for television shows. Biography Early life Olmstead graduated from California State University, Chico in 1988. He is an alumnus of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. He went to Hollywood i ...

hired Vaughan to write a weekly column for the university newspaper. That column achieved a popular campus following and was awarded for excellence by the California Intercollegiate Press Association. Olmstead went on to successful career as a Hollywood producer for ''

Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial drama television show, television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purce ...

'' and ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'' where he would insert Vaughan's name into his scripts. In one episode, Detective

Andy Sipowicz Andrew Sipowicz Sr. is a fictional character on the popular ABC television series '' NYPD Blue''. Andy began as the secondary focus of a more ensemble-like show, but by the middle of Season 6 he is the clear protagonist of the show and receive ...

(

Dennis Franz Dennis Franz Schlachta (; born October 28, 1944), known professionally as Dennis Franz, is an American retired actor best known for his role as NYPD Detective Andy Sipowicz in the ABC television series ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–2005), a role that ea ...

) investigates an incident at Vaughan Construction and in another Detective

Diane Russell Diane Marie Russell (born August 9, 1976) is an American politician who served in the Maine House of Representatives. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Political career When Russell first ran for the State House in 2008, she was workin ...

(

Kim Delaney Kim Delaney (born November 29, 1961) is an American actress known for her starring role as Detective Diane Russell on the ABC drama television series ''NYPD Blue'', for which she won an Emmy Award. Early in her career, she played the role of Jenn ...

) aggressively interrogates a suspect regarding the suspicious use of his alias “Pat Vaughan”.

Career

Vaughan earned a PhD in modern European history at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

. At WVU Vaughan wrote a notable seminar paper that was awarded the John L. Snell Memorial Prize from the

Southern Historical Association The Southern Historical Association is a professional academic organization of historians focusing on the history of the Southern United States. It was organized on November 2, 1934. Its objectives are the promotion of interest and research in Sou ...

(awarded annually to the most outstanding original seminar research paper in European history). The paper examined the complex social-political aspects that led to the rise of Polish Solidarity in the late 1970s-and the specific role of national security adviser

Zbigniew Brzezinski Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzeziński ( , ; March 28, 1928 – May 26, 2017), or Zbig, was a Polish-American diplomat and political scientist. He served as a counselor to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1968 and was President Jimmy Carter's ...

assisting underground movements behind the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

and helping to deter a potential

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

military invasion of

in the autumn of 1980. The paper was published in ''

The Polish Review ''The Polish Review'' is an English-language academic journal published quarterly in New York City by the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. ''The Polish Review'' was established in 1956. Editors-in-chief The following persons hav ...

'' and received attention beyond the academic world.

Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Jan Nowak-Jeziorański (; 2 October 1914 – 20 January 2005) was a Polish journalist, writer, politician, social worker and patriot. He served during the Second World War as one of the most notable resistance fighters of the Home Army. He is b ...

, the former director of

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

, praised the article in a speech in New York City before former U.S. ambassadors to Poland marking the ten year anniversary of the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...

. Nowak-Jeziorański argued Vaughan's article moved beyond the popular media narratives and effectively described the more nuanced elements in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

that served to undermine the Soviet empire and help bring a peaceful end the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

in 1989. Brzezinski wrote Vaughan a letter offering him access to his personal archives in Washington DC. “Over the weekend I had the opportunity to read the article in “The Polish Review” concerning my involvement in U.S. policy toward Eastern Europe” Brzezinski wrote. “I must most heartily congratulate you on it. You have done a truly remarkable job in ‘decoding’ my strategic intent and in analyzing the tactics that I pursued in order to attain my fundamental objectives.” He continued “I do not know the full scope of your ongoing research and your current PhD dissertation. To the extent that it focuses on my public activities, let me offer to you special access to my personal archives. I was so favorably impressed by the thoroughness of your scholarship and by your judicious analysis, that I would be happy also to give you personal access to pertinent sections of my personal diary hich heretofore has not been made available except as used selectively in my own memoirs” Brzezinski Letter to Patrick Vaughan

That PhD dissertation was honored in a ceremony at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

as the Polish Ambassador presented Vaughan with the Kazimierz Dzeiwanowski Award. Professor Thomas Gromada, director of the

Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA) is a Polish-American scholarly institution headquartered in Manhattan (New York City), at 208 East 30th Street. History The Institute was founded during the height of World War II, in 1 ...

, stated in a press release “Vaughan’s work will make a major contribution to the historiography of the Cold War by redefining Brzezinski’s place in it and in the public and controversial debates over the direction of U.S. foreign policy from the 1950s to the present.” In 2010 Vaughan authored a strategic biography on

that was nominated for the Kazimierz Moczarski Award as the outstanding work in Polish history. He discussed the book in interviews with Polish film critic Michal Oleszczyk in ''

Tygodnik Powszechny ''Tygodnik Powszechny'' (, ''The Common Weekly'') is a Polish Roman Catholic weekly magazine, published in Kraków, which focuses on social, cultural and political issues. It was established in 1945 under the auspices of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sap ...

'' and Magdalena Zakowska in ''

Gazeta Wyborcza ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It is the first Polish daily newspaper after the era of "real socialism" and one of Poland's newspapers of record, covering the g ...

''. In 2013 Vaughan wrote a noteworthy chapter to Charles Gati's anthology ''Zbig: The Strategy of Statecraft of Zbigniew Brzezinski''. The introduction was by

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

and contributors included ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' columnist

David Ignatius David Reynolds Ignatius (born May 26, 1950) is an American journalist and novelist. He is an associate editor and columnist for ''The Washington Post''. He has written eleven novels, including '' Body of Lies'', which director Ridley Scott adapt ...

and historian

Francis Fukuyama Francis Yoshihiro Fukuyama (; born October 27, 1952) is an American political scientist, political economist, international relations scholar and writer. Fukuyama is known for his book ''The End of History and the Last Man'' (1992), which argue ...

. “One of the most illuminating chapters written by Patrick Vaughan deals with the relationship between Brzezinski and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

,” wrote

Vladimir Tismaneanu Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

in a review of the book in London's ''

International Affairs International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

'', “The two men shared a deep love for Polish history, consistent distrust of communist double-talk, and a vibrant sense of moral duty in favour of oppressed individuals.” Vaughan received a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

academic grant to Poland and later accepted a professorship at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In 2007 Vaughan helped found the Trans-Atlantic Studies program at Jagiellonian University-his classes include the History of the Cold War, History of International Relations,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and

Russian Literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were c ...

, and Science Fiction and Social and Political Metaphor.

Notes

Vaughan's grandmother was the first woman to ride in the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

.Portland Oregonian, September 18, 1982. The Dutch-Polish stoner surfer band Los Santos Duderinos sampled Vaughan's voice from his “H Frame”

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel for their soon-to-be released song "Pulse".

References

External links

Patrick Vaughan's profile with a photoPatrick Vaughan's H-Frame YouTube Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Patrick 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Cold War historians California State University, Chico alumni West Virginia University alumni Academic staff of Jagiellonian University Living people 1965 births American male non-fiction writers