In April 2024, the family of Eglė and Romualdas Danielius established a sub-fund in the name of Professor Jonas Kazlauskas (1930–1970), from which the returns on investments are used to establish named Award for an outstanding philological research work by an early-career researcher.

The award amount is €3,500 before taxes. The purpose of the Prof. Jonas Kazlauskas Award is to recognize early-career researchers at the VU Faculty of Philology for their contributions to the advancement of philological research and to encourage them to continue their academic work and career at VU.

Professor Jonas Kazlauskas, a habilitated doctor, was one of the most prominent specialists in Baltic linguistics of the 20th century and was the de facto leader of post-war Balticists. The family of patrons is closely related to the VU professor: the renowned ophthalmologist Eglė (Kazlauskaitė) Danielienė is the daughter of Prof. J. Kazlauskas.

From 1949 to 1954, Prof. J. Kazlauskas studied Lithuanian language and literature at Vilnius University. From 1958 to 1970, he worked as a university lecturer, becoming an associate professor in 1962. In 1968, he defended his doctoral dissertation in philological sciences. From 1968 to 1970, Prof. J. Kazlauskas was the dean of the Faculty of History and Philology at VU, and from 1969, a professor.

2025 Award Recipient:

• Dr. Ernesta Kazakėnaitė