Central European University (CEU; ; ) is a private research university in Vienna, Austria. The university offers graduate and undergraduate programs in the social sciences and humanities, which are accredited in Austria and the United States. The university also has a non-degree research and civic engagement presence in Budapest. It is a member of The European University of Social Sciences and Europaeum.
CEU was founded in 1991 by Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist George Soros, who provided it with a $250 million endowment in 2001, making the university one of the wealthiest in Europe, especially on a per-student basis. The university is considered elite and prestigious.
The university was founded in Central Europe because of a perceived need for an independent and international university for the region, in light of the Revolutions of 1989 and concomitant democratisation. A central tenet of the university's mission is the promotion of Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper's idea of open society, a result of its close association with the Open Society Foundations.
History
Early years (1989–1993)
CEU evolved from a series of lectures held at the Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, (now Croatia). In Spring 1989, as historic change was gathering momentum in the region, the need for a new, independent, international university was being considered. The minutes of the gathering held in April 1989 record a discussion among scholars such as , , , István Teplán, Miklós Vámos and Miklós Vásárhelyi from Budapest, William Newton-Smith and Kathleen Wilkes from Oxford, , Michal Illner and from Prague, and Krzysztof Michalski and from Warsaw.Central European University 1989–1999 – Ten Years in Images and Documents,
In 1989–90, a serious attempt was undertaken to establish Central European University in the Slovak capital of Bratislava, but it fell through due to nationalist politicians' opposition.
The university was founded in 1991 in response to the fall of the Socialist Bloc. The founding vision was to create a university dedicated to examining the contemporary challenges of "open societies" and democratization. The initial aim was to create a Western-modeled yet distinctly Central European institution that would foster inter-regional cooperation and educate a new corps of regional leaders to help usher in democratic transitions across the region. CEU was set up in Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw.
The idea of a tri-city (Prague-Budapest-Warsaw) international graduate school was supported by then Czech President Václav Havel, Hungarian President Árpád Göncz and Polish historian Bronislaw Geremek, who later became Polish Foreign Minister.
The university was originally located mostly in Prague, and held its first classes there with around 100 students from 20 countries. Because of "political and financial conflict between its founder and [the] Czech government", represented by then prime minister Václav Klaus, in January 1993 it was moved to Budapest. The university's presence in Prague ended in 1997.
Budapest (1993–2017)
In its second decade, CEU broadened its focus from regional to global, with a special emphasis on democracy promotion and human rights around the world. It has since developed a distinct academic approach, combining regional studies with an international perspective, emphasizing comparative and interdisciplinary research in order to generate new scholarship and policy initiatives, and to promote good governance and the rule of law. CEU has extended its outreach and financial aid programs to certain areas of the developing world. Bard College: About CEU and Budapest
CEU began the region's first master's degree programs in gender studies and environmental sciences. The CEU Center for Media, Data and Society (now the newly independent Media and Journalism Research Center) is the leading center of research on media, communication, and information policy in the region. Soros was one of the largest contributors to CEU’s endowment, pledging $202 million to the university’s endowment in 2005, which was valued in 2010 at $880 million. On 14 October 2007, George Soros stepped down as chairman of CEU Board. Leon Botstein (president of Bard College, New York), who had previously served as the vice-chair of the board, was elected as new chairman for a two-year term. George Soros is a Life-CEU trustee and serves as honorary chairman of the board.
On 1 August 2009, Rector Yehuda Elkana was succeeded by human rights leader and legal scholar John Shattuck. In May 2016, Michael Ignatieff was chosen to succeed Shattuck; he took office on 21 October 2017, becoming the fifth president and rector of the university.
Relocation (2017–2019)
On 28 March 2017, Hungarian Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog, also responsible for education, submitted a bill to Parliament to amend Act CCIV of 2011 on National Higher Education. The bill proposed new regulations for foreign-operating universities, several of which would affect CEU. Notably, such universities could only operate if the Hungarian government had an agreement with the university's other country of operation. (CEU's operating agreement was between the State of New York and the city of Budapest). In addition, a university operating outside of the European Union should have a campus in its other country of operation, where comparable degree programs would be offered (in 2017 it was not the case for CEU). Furthermore, both current and new non-EU academic staff would be required to apply for work permits. This requirement was seen by critics as placing CEU at a particular disadvantage, given that it relied largely on non-EU faculty. Finally, the law would also prohibit the American and Hungarian entities from sharing the same name.
CEU opposed the bill, noting that "these amendments [to Act CCIV of 2011 on National Higher Education] would make it impossible for the University to continue its operations as an institution of higher education in Budapest, CEU's home for 25 years", and that "CEU is in full conformity with Hungarian law."The same day, the pro-government news website Origo.hu asserted that CEU, which it referred to as "Soros University" (George Soros being its founder and main benefactor, and also known as an opponent of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party), operated unlawfully in Hungary, citing regulatory infractions. Origo also referred to a report prepared by Hungary's Educational Authority, which revealed that 28 universities, including CEU, were being investigated for operating unlawfully in Hungary. CEU responded that the allegations of cheating and regulatory infractions constituted defamations and libel, and threatened to sue Origo if the article was not corrected.
On 29 March 2017, President and Rector-elect Ignatieff, Pro-Rector for Hungarian Affairs Zsolt Enyedi and, Pro-Rector for Social Sciences and Humanities Éva Fodor said that "the legislation tabled by the Hungarian government relating to higher education is targeted and discriminatory, attacks CEU, and is an unacceptable assault on our academic freedom... [and] the academic freedom of Hungarian higher education in general." Later, Ignatieff and Enyedi met Secretary of State for Education László Palkovics. CEU then called "for the government to withdraw this legislation and enter into negotiations to find a solution."
On 31 March 2017, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated in an interview on public radio that the future of "Soros University" depended on US-Hungarian talks. He said that CEU was "cheating" by awarding both Hungarian and American degrees, despite not operating abroad. This was a breach of Hungarian regulations, which gave an unfair advantage to CEU over the other 21 foreign universities in Hungary. CEU responded that it was not cheating nor in breach of Hungarian regulations. Indeed, according to CEU, no laws in effect required universities such as CEU also to operate in their countries of origin. However, Szilard Nemeth, vice chairman of Fidesz, was more blunt, stating that civil society groups with funding from Soros should be "swept out" of Hungary.
On the same day, the first Trump administration expressed concern about the proposed legislation, which would "negatively affect or even lead to the closure of Central European University (CEU) in Budapest", and urging the Hungarian government not to take "any legislative action that would compromise CEU's operations or independence."
Hungary's ombudsman for educational rights, Lajos Aary-Tamas, called the amendment to the Higher Education Law "discriminatory against CEU", and said that during his 17 years in office he had never received any complaint about CEU's legal status. Hungarian EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Tibor Navracsics (a Hungarian), and former President of Hungary László Sólyom also expressed support.
Academics and academic institutions from Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Romania, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries expressed support for CEU. CEU itself started a campaign of support, with the slogans #aCEUvalvagyok Central European University in Hungarian and #IstandwithCEU Central European University in English. The campaign used social media to call on supporters to express their solidarity with CEU and write to Hungarian representatives.
British author Tibor Fischer supported the legislation."I don't recognise Viktor Orbán as a 'tyrant'" by Tibor Fischer, The Guardian, 20 April 2017 Fischer defended Orban against "charges of antisemitism", indicating that the government "introduced Holocaust education into schools, passed a Holocaust denial law and...financed Son of Saul, a film about Auschwitz that [went on to win] an Oscar." He specified that he opposes the practice whereby CEU, being registered in New York City, can issue a diploma accredited in the United States but without actually operating a campus in America within the provisions of the law as every other Hungarian campus, a situation that he described as CEU students "getting a double bubble." were held on April 2 in the form of a walk from Budapest's Corvinus University to Parliament, passing by Eötvös Loránd University and CEU. The demonstration brought together thousands of protesters, with protest speeches by both CEU and foreign academics and activists, and was broadcast live on Facebook by Hír TV.
In the wake of the new Hungarian legislation, the Czech Minister of Finance Andrej Babiš proposed CEU be moved to Prague, Czech Republic, offering particular buildings in the centre of the city that the university might use.