Géza Illyefalvi Vitéz Law Professor, the Rector Magnificus of István Tisza Hungarian Royal University in Debrecen During the Academic Year of 1926/27. Illyefalvi Vitéz Géza (1871–1931) studied at a university in Budapest, where he obtained a doctorate in law and political sciences. At the end of 1896 he was elected public ordinary professor of the judicial academy in Sárospatak, where he taught administrative law and statistics. He was a professor of the University of Debrecen after its establishment in 1914. In
1921 he was appointed Dean of the Law Faculty and he was re-elected in 1931. Illyefalvi Vitéz Géza was Rector of the Hungarian Royal Tisza István University of Debrecen in 1926/27, the year when the clinic site was inaugurated, and the laying of the foundation stone of the main building took place. We can say that he was a rector at a destiny-shaping period of the University. He effectively represented the interests of the University, with the help of his contemporary higher education policy and the university development plans of Minister of Education Kunó Klebersberg. Illyefalvi wrote fourteen books and monographs, as well as numerous journal articles. These works are grouped in the two major fields of his interests, statistics and public finance. He also wrote university and judicial academy notes and textbooks.

Frigyes Verzár, Professor of Physiology and Rector Magnificus of István Tisza Hungarian Royal University in Debrecen During the Academic Year of 1927/28. Frigyes Verzár was Rector of the University of Debrecen in the academic year of 1927–28. This task was particularly demanding for various reasons. First, construction work on the central building of the University was still underway, second, because in August 1927 the Research Institute of Tihany was opened, and Verzár had to direct that Institute,
too. The actually existing conditions of commuting between Debrecen and Tihany rendered the fulfilment of this double load particularly troublesome. In spite of all the difficulties, however, the work of the Rector yielded rich results, as listed in the report of Rector held in September 1928.

István Járdányi-Paulovics (1892–1952), Researcher of Pannonia. István Járdányi-Paulovics’s professional interest first turned to the study of the remains of Egyptian cults in Pannonia. His excavation work began in Intercisa, later he continued this activity in Brigetio and Savaria. In all three cases he produced memorable results despite the fact that subsequent excavations often failed to confirm his assumptions. In the case of Brigetio, he produced publications of enduring merit on the small bronze age and the analysis of the inscriptions of a law tablet. The most vivid interest was generated by the exploration of the excavations in the so-called Quirinus basilica in Savaria, which in the meantime has come to be regarded by more recent research as the palace of the procurator. His definition pertaining to the Capitolean Trias has been equally controversial. Between 1940 and 1952, at the University of Debrecen he invigourated the study of ancient history and of provincial archaeology.

The Studies of Pál Kitaibel, Professor of the Hungarian Royal University. During the Age of Enlightenment the field of natural sciences went through fundamental changes that are present until this day. One of the most famous natural philosophers of the age in Europe was Hungarian Pál Kitaibel, who created the still valid basis for the description of the flora, natural geography and landscape research of the Carpathian Basin. Little is known about his student years at the Royal Academy of Győr (1777–78) and at the
Medical Faculty of the Royal Hungarian Science University (1780–84), which provided him with a wide range of knowledge in natural sciences. With the help of historical documents pertaining to the age this study investigates the approximately ten years of Kitaibel’s life from a culture-historical and pedagogical point of view in connection with the evolving Hungarian natural scientific thinking.

The Royal Joseph Technical University in the First World War. The First World War gave new challenges to the Royal Joseph Technical University: in its functioning (e.g. maintaining a military hospital), in teaching and researching (student soldiers, military-related innovation) and in social activities (livelihood in the hinterland) as well. In addition some important education issues culminated in those years: the reform of the technical education system (simultaneously with the formation of the department of economy),
and the establishment of the second and third Hungarian technical university. However, the emancipation of women may be considered one of the achievements of World War I, it only partially prevailed at the university. Nevertheless the socio-economic role of the university, including the importance of more-specialized and practical knowledge transfer, was highly appreciated during the war. The publication provides a brief summary of the subject based on those unused sources which can be found in the university's archives.

An Attempt to Establish a Department of Dutch Between the Two World Wars. On 20th June, 1921, Ms. Catharina Kuyper, daughter of the former prime minister of the Netherlands, visited Debrecen. This occasion brought the rector of the Hungarian Royal István Tisza University of Debrecen to write her a letter and ask her to convince the Dutch government of the importance of a Department of Dutch Literature and Culture at this university. Kuyper agreed with this wish and promised the board of the university her mediation to raise money for the new department. The managers of the university found a qualified person, dr. Zsigmond Nagy, for the leadership of the Dutch Studies. They received only goodwill support from the Hungarian government but no money. Nagy died in the spring of 1922 and the Dutch government refused to help establish a new Dutch department because of the hard financial situation of the Netherlands.

From Simonffy Street to University Square: the First Decades of Debrecen’s University Library. The University and National Library of the University of Debrecen celebrated the centennial of its foundation on the last day of September, 2016. The institution, which boasts the second largest deposit collection in the country, emerges from the system on account of its unique national services, as well as of its extraordinary priceless collection. Several components of this valuable collection still await careful exploration for
the purposes of promoting scientific and scholarly activity, as well as of ensuring the possibilities of access for the general public. The present study highlights the stages of the initial placement of the university library and its subsequent relocation in the University’s main academic building.

Hungarian Medical Training in Transsylvania (1): Kolozsvár. The pertinent text first sketches a comprehensive survey of two periods of medical training (1872–1919 and 1940–1944) of the University of Kolozsvár, detailing the infrastructural progress of the institution, student enrollment figures, the everyday functioning of medicinal and scientific activities. The author passionately outlines the circumstances of the discontinuation of the training program on two separate occasions. As supplements to the text, the biographies of four rectors (university presidents who have played important roles in the development of the institution and of medical training) are included, together with lists of the departments and leading professors that played important roles in the two periods

The Debrecen Memo of an Extrordinary Meeting Convened at the Ministry of Religion and Public Education on April 11–12, 1944. In March, 1944, the German military occupation of Hungary plunged the country into a difficult situation, affecting among other things the Ministry of Religion and Public Education responsible for the institutions of higher education. Minister Jenő Szinyei Merse convened a twoday meeting for April 11 and 12, for the purposes of analysing the situation that evolved and for making
the required decisions. The source material registers the proceedings of this meeting. President János Bognár of Debrecen’s István Tisza University probably had the text copied immediately after he had returned from the capital. The memo consists of twenty-five long and short items and these are about taking sundry measures, mainly pertaining to the simplification of administration for the purposes of an early closure of the academic year and a more severe interpretation of the Jewish laws.

The Archontology of Lajos Kossuth University of Arts and Sciences (1950–1990), Part V: Institute of Western Languages and Literatures. The Archontology of Kossuth University for the School of Arts, the School of Sciences, and for the So-Called “Central Units” between January 1, 1950, and December 31, 1990, was compiled on the basis of the personal cards and personal files of the Personnel Department of the Rector’s Office, and the scantily documented section for the 1950s was supplemented from the annually
arranged documentary material of the Personnel Office. Even so, however, the existing material fails to be complete. It is impossible to compile the archontology with perfect accuracy. Part VI presents the complete list of the Institute of Western Languages and Literatures from institute head to janitor.

Memoirs of László Vince, Part iii. László Vince was first employed by the University of Debrecen in 1951, as a stenographer at the University Study Notes Office. When this office was dismantled, from 1952 he worked at the Registrar’s Office of the School of Arts. In 1956 he was transferred to the Rector’s Office, where, in 1972, he was promoted to head the department of international programs. This position, which he held until his retirement in 1990, was actually equivalent to the rank of rector’s secretary. During his
years of employment he acquired an enormous amount of experience, which was partly due to the fact that in the 1950s he could still talk to the representatives of the previous political order. His detailed but strongly subjective reminiscences – supplemented with necessary footnoting pertaining to the sources used – is published here as the third part of three interrelated texts.

The Memorial Board of my Generation – We were Students of Medicine in Debrecen, 1951–1957. The author, who is a retired doctor of pediatric, gives us an insight into the everyday life of the students of Debrecen’s University of Medicine in the 1950s. Besides autobiographical references short anecdotes pertaining to the one-time famous professors are offered.

Orange-Yellow Tulips. The History of Dutch Studies at the University of Debrecen. Teaching of Dutch started at Lajos Kossuth University (which later became the University of Debrecen) with a group of five students in 1991. At that time, Dutch was offered as a second Germanic language to students of German only. Currently, there are four different types of study programmes at the independent Department of Dutch Studies, with more than 90 students altogether. The popularity of Dutch Studies is partially a result
of the excellent opportunities in the labour market for candidates speaking Dutch.

Ferenc Postma: Studenci z rzeczypospolitej we fryzyjskim uniwersytecie we franeker - recenzió

Istoria Universităţii „Babeş-Bolyai” - recenzió

Čestní doktori Univerzity komenského 1928–2014 -  recenzió

Virágos Zsolt Kálmán–Pálffy István: A Debreceni Angol Tanszék története (1938–2014) - recenzió

Commemorating Professor György Székely. This professor of history of Loránt Eötvös University of Arts and Sciences possessed an unusually broad range of professional interests. In one phase of his professional career he showed a profound interest in the history of Hungarian universities of medieval times: Pécs, Óduda, Pozsony and he elaborated on this issue in a number of studies. The related study offers a survey of the university historical work of Professor Székely, who passed away in 2016, at the age of 92, also providing a synopsis of the most significant stages of his professional career.

The Heritage of 100 Years. The library of the University of Debrecen celebrated its centenary in 2016. The current selection offers a summary of the most significant ideas in the lectures presented at the memorial session on September 30, 2016. It also offers a survey of the relevant events of the University of Debrecen pertaining to the festive occasion.