Rector’s Report on Debrecen University 1914–1915 The rector’s report about the first academic year of the Royal University of Debrecen depicts a poignant picture. While recording the national joy that was felt over the opening of a new university, he also notes how the first academic year was rudely disrupted by the outbreak of World War I. His report reflects the sense of duty and the patriotic spirit which pervaded both the students and the faculty of the university, and the immediate ensuing hardship which was conquered by an undiminished faith in education despite all difficulties.