The academic community of the West University of Timișoara celebrated with great emotion the crowning of the prestigious professional career of university professor Mircea Mihăieș, marked by the awarding of the title of "Honorary Citizen" of the Municipality of Timișoara.
During the festivities held on the very day of the tribute to the great national poet Mihai Eminescu, on January 15, 2024, the title of "Honorary Citizen" of the Municipality of Timișoara was awarded to the writer Mircea Mihăieș in recognition of the public importance of his cultural contributions, through which he campaigned for the respect of the values of freedom, democracy and civic respect. Together with Horia Roman Patapievici and Tania Radu, his lordship ensured the most prestigious and efficient management of the Romanian Cultural Institute and, later, in the year of Timișoara - European Capital of Culture, he designed and promoted in a brilliant manner the series of conferences " At UVT, culture is capital!".
The awarding event was part of a ceremony in which a number of cultural personalities of the community were honored, with professor Mircea Mihăieș being designated honorary citizens and Mrs. Ida Jarcsek - Gaza (former teaching staff of UVT), Mr. Andrei Ujică (UVT alumnus) and members of the band Pro Musica: Vasile Dolga (postmortem), Horea Silviu Crișovan, Bogdan Oliver Nagy, Grigore Bujor Hariga, Doru Apreotesei, Dietrich Krauser, Eugen Dorel Titz, Mario Florescu and Marian Odangiu.
In December 2023, the "Titu Maiorescu" Award, the most important award of the Romanian Academy, was awarded to Professor Mircea Mihăieș for the volume Finnegans Wake, 628. The novel of darkness (Editura Polirom), volume that completes the series of three books that the Timisoara university and man of culture dedicated to the great Irish writer, James Joyce. It is the largest exegetical enterprise, not only in the Romanian space, but also in the international space, dedicated to the one who revolutionized the prose of the 20th century. Finnegans Wake, 628. The novel of darkness he also received the highest distinction of the Romanian Writers' Union, the National Award. Also, the National Museum of Romanian Literature awarded the Timișoara writer the "Alexandru Ciorănescu" Award for comparative literature, and the Romanian General and Comparative Literature Association awarded him the "Comparative Literature Award" for the year 2021. In addition to other important distinctions and awards, among which is the "Cultural Merit in the rank of Knight", awarded by the Presidency of Romania, Mircea Mihăieș has received the Romanian Writers' Union award nine times.
Mircea Mihaies: "Thank you for being with me in this moment of celebration. 50 years ago I stepped off a bus, arriving from Arad to Timisoara. I did not suspect then that my life would be linked to Timișoara. I happened to discover here that I was changing from a good student to a very good student, and then as a student, received with great friendship. It took me about ten years to really feel the city, which puts everything at your disposal, but which does not give you the fish, but gives you the rod, as they say. Thank you all, you made me more from Timisoara and from Banat than I thought possible. I strongly believe in multicultural values, which do not only mean the plurality of languages spoken, but also the plurality of ways of relating to the world, to ourselves, to ourselves. Thank you very much!"
UVT rector, Marilen Gabriel Pirtea: "The critic and academic Mircea Mihăieș is a symbol of cultural Timișoara, but also a brilliant cultural ambassador of the Western University of Timișoara. Over time, the ideas that professor Mircea Mihăieș cultivated through his vibrant texts constituted a special vein of civic values, at the height of an authentic honorary citizen of Timișoara. I am honored to convey to Professor Mircea Mihăieș, on behalf of the academic community of UVT, full thanks, with gratitude!"
