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The STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NAGYSZOMBAT IN THE LIGHT OF MORE CONTEMPORARY SOURCES
146-181Views:314. The University of Nagyszombat, established in 1635, is Hungary's first, continously operating university. It's successors are the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest and the Pázmány Péter Catholic University. A significant part of the university's archival resources were destroyed in a fire at the Hungarian National Archives during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Therefore it is extremely difficult to compile a list of the students who studied at the first Hungarian university. Recently, in Esztergom, new, previously unknown sources emerged about the students of the university. In this article we summarise the findings that can be drawn from the new documents regarding the students that studied at the Faculty of Arts and Theology of the University. The article analyses the university's geographical area, the evolution of the number of students and the social stratification of the student population and nationality, the proportion of foreign and national students.
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THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN 2000–2025.: THE FIRST RECTOR'S TERM JANUARY 1st 2000 – JULY 31st 2001
180-227Views:250A new era of higher education in Debrecen began in 2000 – decades after the 1912 founded state university was split into several institutions in 1950 – the Debrecen University was established from four independent institutions, offering the broadest range of study programs in the country with five university faculties, three college faculties, nine institutes and three associated institutions. This study reviews the preliminary steps which had been taken to prepare for the institutional integration within the framework of the Debrecen Universitas Association and the Debrecen University Association, describes the circumstances surrounded the failure of the direct integration of church institutions, and details the events connected to the launch of the new university, also presenting the recollections of those involved in the university leadership at the time. The success of the Debrecen University integration was based on its special characteristics, such as broad-based leadership, close cooperation of rectors elected for a short period from different fields of science, highly decentralized management, the establishment of the Medical and Health Sciences Center and the Agricultural Sciences Center – which combined high-level clinical work and agricultural activities, respectively, with the function of related faculties –, and an infrastructural investment program that enabled advances in the majority of educational areas and focused on support of scientific research. Based on the structural decisions, internal integration processes were launched for consolidated operation of informatics, the libraries and language departments, and in the activities of specialty coordination centers, to facilitate cooperation in educational programs and research work. A constructive and harmonious relationship had been developed with the newly formed university-level students’ union and, within the framework of a collective agreement with the institution's employees. The cooperation agreement with the city of Debrecen, the interconnection with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and participation in the founding of the European University Association were of decisive importance in the university's external relations. The joint works in developing the identity of the University of Debrecen, the creation of symbols and brand images linked to the historical Debrecen Reformed College resulted in trust-based cooperation and breaking down of barriers between the integrating communities of scholars, researchers, students, and employees.
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PORTRAIT OF DEZSŐ SZABÓ, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY
38-53Views:267Dezső Szabó was professor of history at the University of Debrecen for 35 years from 1924 to 1959. He graduated from the University of Budapest with a degree in History and Latin. It was at the instigation of his patron, Henrik Marczali, that he began his research on the Hungarian assemblies of the pre-Mohács period. He also wrote his doctoral dissertation on this topic. Thanks to his excellent academic achievements, he graduated from the university with a royal gold ring of honour (sub auspiciis regis). He taught for many years in secondary schools and in 1912 became a privatdocent at the Budapest University of Science. In February 1924, Governor Miklós Horthy appointed him full professor of medieval and modern (universal) history at the University of Debrecen. At that time, his research was already focused on the Urbarium of Maria Theresa. In 1931 he was elected a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He published relatively little and concentrated his activities on secondary school teacher training. He was the dean of the Faculty of Humanities for four academic years. He made an invaluable contribution to the reorganisation of university education in 1944. Despite this, he was repeatedly persecuted under the new regime and was only able to retain his chair thanks to the intervention of his influential students. He retired at the age of 77. The second and third volumes of his work, A magyarországi úrbérrendezés története Mária Terézia korában, which is considered the major work of his life, are still awaiting publication.
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The PAPAL RECOGNITION OF THE THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAGYSZOMBAT (TRNAVA) IN 1635
89-125Views:277It is a cornerstone of Hungarian historiography that the foundation of the University of Nagyszombat in 1635 was merely approved by the Emperor. Pope Urban VIII refused to confirm it because of the lack of a medical and legal faculty. The present study establishes that, from the side of the Apostolic See and thus also from the side of canon law, recognition was granted by prior authorization to the foundation of the University of Nagyszombat (Trnava) by Archbishop Peter Pázmány in 1635. It turns out that the failure to obtain immediate papal confirmation of the foundation of the university on 12 May 1635 was due to the objections of the leadership of the Jesuit order. It proves that the Roman Curia's failure to solemnly confirm the founding of the Pázmány was not in fact due to the two-faculty nature of the institution, but rather to its Jesuit character. The reasons for this can be found in the more effective lobbying of the medieval universities and the mendicant orders, and the gradual decline of the Society of Jesus. Despite the subsequent confirmation by the Holy See, and the failure to grant university privileges in the form of a bull, the foundation of the university in 1635 may have been carried out with papal approval because Pázmány received a - preliminary - authorisation to found a university from Orban VIII in May 1632, during his imperial embassy to Rome.
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ZOLTÁN VARGA, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY RECTOR MAGNIFICUS OF LAJOS KOSSUTH UNIVERSITY DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1955-1957
23-37Views:280Zoltán Varga, professor of history, had been the rector of Lajos Kossuth University in a quite controversial period. Although, the easing political tensions following Stalin’s death in the Soviet Union could be felt in Hungary as well, the Communist leadership’s insistence on power has prevented any substantial change. The reform-proposals of the university bodies remained ineffective against the political leadership. The lecturers and students thus assumed a leading role in the local events of the October 1956 revolution in Debrecen. University Rector Zoltán Varga - who was removed from his position by the revolutionary leadership – following the aftermath of the revolution, returned to his post and worked hard to save his colleagues and students from reprisals. However, due to his illness, he resigned from his post in the spring of 1957.
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To the Critical Period of the History of the University of Pozsony 1914–1923
142-156Views:288Elizabeth University of Arts and Sciences that was founded in 1912 started functioning with opening the Faculty of Law in the autumn of 1914. The first lectures were held only at the beginning of 1918 at the Faculty of Arts and at the autumn of 1918 at the Medical Faculty. On 1st of January in 1919 the Czech Legion marched in Pozsony (later Bratislava), and from this point on the possibility of the further operation of the university was uncertain. In the September of 1919 the Czechoslovak State occupied all real estates of the university, consequently, education at the Faculty of Arts and at Medical Faculty of the Elizabeth University was finished. The university teachers and students of these faculties fled to Hungary. Education at the Faculty of Law was going on until the summer of 1921, and then this faculty was also closed. The university as displaced educational institution together with the similarly displaced University of Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca) continued her activity in Budapest. In 1923, the University gained her final place in Pécs.
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RESEARCH ON UNIVERSITY TRAVEL IN EUROPE
60-81Views:341Research into the history of university travel abroad, or peregrination, is an important topic for all European nations. The European centre, the countries to which university mobility from the periphery was directed, had primarily host universities, and it is important for them to study their own links and their own sphere of attraction. This is particularly the case for universities in Italy, France and Germany. However, they are also examining their own university visits in relation to other regions of the centre. Some of the countries at the northern, eastern and southern ends of Europe were relatively early in the development of their own universities, but still sent large numbers of students to universities in the centre countries, so researching this is also important for them. For example, for Spanish and Portuguese historiography, the study of the French and Italian university itineraries is an important issue. In the older states of Scandinavia and Central Europe, although universities were established relatively early, they were not permanent and the vast majority of intellectuals from these nations were educated in foreign universities. This is particularly true of the smaller European states that became independent in the 19th and 20th centuries, and it is even more important to examine the development of their national intellectuals. This paper addresses these issues by presenting research on the subject.
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THE ITALIAN CONNECTIONS OF THE SUMMER UNIVERSITY IN KESZTHELY OF THE ERZSÉBET UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES, 1934-1936
81-110Views:231The study presents the first two years of the summer university of the Elizabeth University of Pécs in Keszthely and the holiday home built for the students. The Italianist professor Jenő Kastner's relations with Italy are analyzed, highlighting their significance in the organization of the summer university courses. It provides an overview of the Italian-Hungarian diplomatic and cultural agreements, which fundamentally determined the concept of the courses and lectures of the Keszthely summer university, as well as the milestones of close cooperation with Italy. With the help of archival sources, we reconstruct the activities of Dr. Jenő Kastner, the head of the Italian Department of the Elizabeth University of Pécs, in Pécs, and the circumstances of the establishment of the holiday home.
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BÉLA PUKÁNSZKY PROFESSOR OF GERMAN STUDIES THE RECTOR MAGNIFICUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1947/48.
13-21Views:327Béla Pukánszky, Literary historian. germanist, corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, was a professor at the University of Debrecen from 1941 until his death. He was the Head of the Department of German Literature at the university; he was dean of the Faculty of Arts in the academic year of 1947/48 and rector of the university in the academic year of 1948/49. Due to his unfortunate, early death at the age of 55, he worked at the University of Debrecen for only nine years, but he was known and recognized far beyond the walls of the university through his scholarly work.
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LIFE AND WORK OF CLINICAL PROFESSOR SÁNDOR ÁRVAY, DEAN ENDOWED WITH RECTOR’S RIGHTS (1954−1955), CURATIVE-PREVENTIVE (CLINICAL) VICE-RECTOR (1965−1971) OF THE DEBRECEN MEDICAL UNIVERSITY
3-20Views:277Sándor Árvay (1903-1997) was professor and head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of the Medical University of Debrecen for 22 years. Three years after his appointment, he performed the duties of a dean of the university with the rights of a rector. Ten years later, as clinical vice rector, he managed the curative and preventive tasks of the university for six years. As a university student, he studied in Debrecen, Budapest, Vienna and Basel. During his clinical internship in Debrecen, he learned the theoretical foundations of experimental medicine at the Institute of Physiology in Basel. After his professional examination, he experienced the practical duties of healing patients as a chief physician in Szikszó, Máramarossziget, and Gyula. Armed with his extensive theoretical and practical experience, he was appointed head of obstetrics. He has developed his clinic into one of the national centers of the profession, and through his extensive national and foreign connections, into an internationally renowned institute. Thanks to his work, 5 department heads, 9 university professors, and 21 head physicians have emerged from his institute, the Árvay school. He was awarded prestigious state and social awards for his outstanding public activities in the leadership of the university and in social organizations. After his retirement, he selflessly helped his colleagues for another 17 years with wise advices and useful observations. His human qualities, modesty, puritanism, broad knowledge and wisdom are exemplary and are respected by all of us. We take great care of his exceptionally rich spiritual legacy, and preserve his memory with respect and grace.
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GYULA PETRÁNYI PROFESSOR OF INTERNAL MEDICINE AND DEAN OF THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN IN 1953-1954
3-22Views:337In the academic year 1953/54, Professor Gyula Petrányi headed the Debrecen Medical University, which became independent in 1951, as Dean with the power of a rector, and then served as Vice-Rector of the Clinical Faculty of the University from 1971-74. He came to the University of Debrecen in 1950 at the young age of 38, when he was entrusted with the establishment and organization of the II. Department of Internal Medicine. Initially, the clinic was located in Bem Square within the Municipal Hospital, then moved to the clinical premises in July 1951. From 1967 to 1974 he was director of the I. Department of Internal Medicine. Until 1983, he was head of the Internal Medicine Clinic II at Semmelweis Medical University and, at the same time director of the National Institute of Internal Medicine. During his 24 years in Debrecen, he drew on his previous international experience to establish a new clinic that was up to date. He laid the foundations for an integrated approach to internal medicine and sub-disciplinary specialization. His repeatedly published textbooks on internal medicine have underpinned the knowledge and professional work of generations of medical doctors. He is credited with the establishment of the Immunology Laboratory, the Isotope Laboratory, the Intensive Care Unit of the Department of Internal Medicine, the Endoscopy Laboratory, the Dialysis Centre, and the foundation of the Central Clinical Chemistry Laboratory. In his scientific activity, he focused on immunology, which was a pioneering field at the time, and as an academician, he laid the clinical foundations for this field in Hungary. His university leadership was characterized by systemic and quality elevation of teaching, clinical and research activities. As dean and clinical deputy rector, he played a significant role in the Medical University of Debrecen serving as an example for other Hungarian medical universities.
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THE PLAN OF THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM 1846
Views:60The predecessor of today's Eötvös Loránd University was relocated from Buda to Pest in 1784, and several buildings that had been in use for decades, typically owned by monastic orders, were handed over for its use. By the mid-19th century, the buildings—especially the medical faculty building—were in very poor condition, so at the recommendation of the Governor's Council, Emperor Ferdinand V ordered the development of a cost estimate for new university buildings in 1846. Ferenc Toldy, the director of the University Library, made a proposal for the new building, outlining his ideal library design in a multi-page report. The study publishes Toldy's draft and the correspondence related to the matter held by the ELTE University Library and Archives.
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Béla Pukánszky researcher and artist
25-31Views:295In the first phase of the history of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Debrecen, several lecturers were in close connection with arts. This study intends to introduce primarily the musical significance of Professor Béla Pukánszky from Pozsony. In the course of the research, I attempted to read and process the surviving documents of the personal legacy along with the critiques, reviews and jubilee studies written by contemporary scholars and colleagues. In Béla Pukánszky’s case, I relied on the documents preserved in the Manuscript Archive at the University of Debrecen (minutes, concert invitations, handwritten and typed music history performances), and especially on his wife’s correspondence. As a result, I report on Béla Pukánszky’s art-related scholarly and educational pursuits as writer and lecturer, and demonstrate the proactive role he undertook in the artistic life of Debrecen, Budapest, and the whole of Hungary. Thus, my work contributes to the previous research results on the important activities of the faculty’s and the town’s nationally outstanding intellectual circles in the fields of cultural history, cultural education and art patronage.
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A Debreceni Egyetem centenáriumi előkészületei
3-7Views:199Centenary Preparations at the University of Debrecen. The editors of the journal offer status reports on the preparations for the centenary celebrations of the University of Debrecen in 2010. Special attention is devoted to those publications which thematize the history of the university (as well as the history of its predecessor institutions) and of the faculties, of which pre-eminent position is occupied by the commemorative centenary volume offering a comprehensive history of the university in answer to the expectations and requirements of the 21st century. Brief surveys are provided of preparatory projects such as the ones aimed at establishing a Museum of the University, the processes of conducting interviews pertaining to the history of the university, as well as the emerging programs of the centenary year.
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Fejezetek, arcképvázlatok a DEAC labdarúgó szakosztályának történetéből
145 - 171Views:315Chapters and Sketches of Portraits pertaining to the History of the Soccer Division of the Debrecen University Athletic Club. The Athletic Club of the University of Debrecen (DEAC) was established on the first day of August, 1919, by the University’s managers, professors and various renowned public figures with the primary objective of ensuring sporting opportunities and facilities for the student body, the educators and other employees of the University. The soccer club of DEAC achieved the peak of its development in the 1960s and 1970s, when the University’s team managed to qualify to play in the second division of the national football league (NB II). In those days the team attracted large crowds. Each team member was a student and they also were successful as students. Besides offering a survey of tangible successes in football, the present discussion also highlights the subsequent careers of the respective members of the team. A number of these successful soccer players also achieved outstanding professional careers, some of them became professors, well-known medical doctors, school pricipals, and sports managers of international rank The survey also introduces those university managers who supported and promoted the quality sporting activities of the students. The essay is a much-needed elaboration adding substantially to a better understanding of the scope, the past and present of the University of Debrecen. It is both a history of sport and the history of an institution.
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Német egyetemi filozófiai hatások Schneller István morálpedagógiai rendszerében
23-33Views:310German Academic Effects on István Schneller’s pedagogical System. Having studied theology at German universities, Schneller István (1847–1939) got to the Department of Education at Kolozsvár University in 1895. He played an important role in having the Transsylvanian Hungarian University, suppressed in May of 1919, transferred to Szeged in the autumn of 1921. Schneller’s approach to the questions of pedagogy was that of an Evangelical theologian. He applied the term „personality pedagogy” to his pedagogy, thus referring to the fact that the process of moulding the individual into a personality was placed in the focus of his pedagogy. When searching the roots of Schneller’s moral anthropological concepts with regard to the history of ideas, the following influences are to be revealed: 1. The Protestant doctrine, the influence of the Herrenhut circle of the Evangelical Pietists, Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher’s influence. The process of becoming a member in the Domain of God is to be supported by the individual’s intimate religious experience. 2. The reception of Pestalozzi’s influence: The Swiss pedagogue’s ethical evolutionary theory is mainly discussed in the study titled „Meine Nachforschungen über den Gang der Natur…”. The three grades described there are as follows: Naturstand (Natural State), Gesellschaftlicher Zustand (Social State), Sittlicher Zustand (Moral State), which might as well be interpreted as the antecedents of Schneller’s conception. Schneller goes further on the road outlined by Pestalozzi, setting the process of ethicizing into a wider context. 3. The Kantian influence is equivalent to that of Pestalozzi. Schneller himself attempts to interpret Kant’ pedagogical conceptions discussed several times and in several ways as a unified system. On the basis of his university lectures, it can be recognized that Schneller reveals the following grades in the process of evolution described by Kant: 1. eudaimonism, 2. legality, 3. morality. Nonetheless, in favour of Schleiermacher’s principle of love, Schneller is reluctant to accept the emotionally rigorous ethical laws and the Kantian categorical imperative. Schneller as a charismatic pedagogue-professor at Kolozsvár, then at Szeged University, gathered a multitude of students around himself, many of whom (Varga Béla, Makkai Sándor, Kemény Ferenc, Imre Sándor), starting from and developing the intellectual world of personality pedagogy, became considerable theoreticians themselves. German Academic Effects on István Schneller’s pedagogical System. Having studied theology at German universities, Schneller István (1847–1939) got to the Department of Education at Kolozsvár University in 1895. He played an important role in having the Transsylvanian Hungarian University, suppressed in May of 1919, transferred to Szeged in the autumn of 1921. Schneller’s approach to the questions of pedagogy was that of an Evangelical theologian. He applied the term „personality pedagogy” to his pedagogy, thus referring to the fact that the process of moulding the individual into a personality was placed in the focus of his pedagogy. When searching the roots of Schneller’s moral anthropological concepts with regard to the history of ideas, the following influences are to be revealed: 1. The Protestant doctrine, the influence of the Herrenhut circle of the Evangelical Pietists, Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher’s influence. The process of becoming a member in the Domain of God is to be supported by the individual’s intimate religious experience. 2. The reception of Pestalozzi’s influence: The Swiss pedagogue’s ethical evolutionary theory is mainly discussed in the study titled „Meine Nachforschungen über den Gang der Natur…”. The three grades described there are as follows: Naturstand (Natural State), Gesellschaftlicher Zustand (Social State), Sittlicher Zustand (Moral State), which might as well be interpreted as the antecedents of Schneller’s conception. Schneller goes further on the road outlined by Pestalozzi, setting the process of ethicizing into a wider context. 3. The Kantian influence is equivalent to that of Pestalozzi. Schneller himself attempts to interpret Kant’ pedagogical conceptions discussed several times and in several ways as a unified system. On the basis of his university lectures, it can be recognized that Schneller reveals the following grades in the process of evolution described by Kant: 1. eudaimonism, 2. legality, 3. morality. Nonetheless, in favour of Schleiermacher’s principle of love, Schneller is reluctant to accept the emotionally rigorous ethical laws and the Kantian categorical imperative. Schneller as a charismatic pedagogue-professor at Kolozsvár, then at Szeged University, gathered a multitude of students around himself, many of whom (Varga Béla, Makkai Sándor, Kemény Ferenc, Imre Sándor), starting from and developing the intellectual world of personality pedagogy, became considerable theoreticians themselves.
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THE OFFICIALS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN BETWEEN 1914 AND 1950.
146-174Views:314The compilation of basic data, lists of teachers and officials is essential for the history of the University of Debrecen. As one of the „by-products” of the publication prepared for the centenary of the University of Debrecen, wasa day-by-day list of university officials compiled. As the archives from 1914 to 1950 were extensively scrapped in the 1950s, it is not always possible to determine the dates of the officials' activities from the surviving archives. In any case, the archontology that has been drawn up taking these into account includes the officials of the Rector’s Office, the Dean’s Offices, the Quaestura („Study Office”), the Economic Office (later the Economic Directorate) and other service institutions between the dates indicated above. The University Library staff have already appeared elsewhere.
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PAST – PRESENT – FUTURE: 15 YEARS OF THE KERPELY KÁLMÁN COLLEGE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES
174-185Views:300Student organizations – and within them, colleges for advanced studies – play a special role in the life of higher education institutions. These communities offer not only opportunities for talented and motivated students to deepen their academic pursuits, but also convey core values: a commitment to science, a sense of social responsibility, and a persistent drive for intellectual growth. Colleges for advanced studies build bridges between theoretical knowledge and practical experience, between individual ambition and shared purpose – all within a supportive, inspiring environment. Throughout our university years, these communities become spaces where we learn not only to study, but to think, create, debate, and collaborate. This is why such colleges are not merely academic forums – they are transformative communities. They are places where friendships are forged, life-long connections are made, and professional journeys begin. Since its founding in 2010, the Kálmán Kerpely College for Advanced Studies at the University of Debrecen has played a distinguished role in fulfilling this mission. Following the intellectual legacy of its namesake, the College has provided its members with both high-level academic enrichment and meaningful community experiences over the past fifteen years. Its anniversary offers a fitting opportunity to reflect on its history, its impact, and all it has contributed – to individuals, to communities, and, in a broader sense, to the university as a whole.
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The DESTRUCTION OF THE DOCUMENTS OF THE EÖTVÖS LORÁND UNIVERSITY IN THE 1950S
196-233Views:333At Eötvös Loránd University, registers have been kept continuously since its foundation in 1635. The storage of these and then the documents and minutes created in the rector’s and dean’s offices posed a challange to the institution at the beginning of the 20th century. From 1948, in accordance with the decrees and instructions issued in the name of paper-saving, as well as the archival decree published in 1950, large-scale document disposition began, and the remaining documents were transferred to the Hungarian National Archives. The documents created between 1635 and 1900 were transported from the university in 1951. From 1952, in addition to the disposition, documents also had to be transferred to the Hungarian Labour Movement Institute, so only a fraction of the documents created after 1900 ended up in the National Archives between 1953 and 1955. In November 1956, a fire broke out in the National Archives as a result of a shot, and all the delivered documents of the university were destroyed. Between 1948 and 1956, the Eötvös Loránd University suffered an irreparable loss, since according to conservative estimates, only 20 meters of documents remained out of approximately 2500 meters of documents, and thus it lost not only its documents, but also a large part of its past.
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JÁNOS BARTA PROFESSOR OF LITERATURE, RECTOR OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1957 OF LAJOS KOSSUTH UNIVERSITY
3-17Views:217Barta János was born in 1901 in a farming family. He completed his university studies in Budapest. During his time at Eötvös College his biggest inspiration was János Horváth the prominent literature scholar. In 1923 he graduated with a teacher degree in Hungarian and German, then between 1925-27 he was the student of Collegicum Hungaricum in Berlin. After his return to Hungary he started to publish books and studies on 19th century writers such as Imre Madách and József Katona. In 1950 he became professor at József Eötvös University, Budapest and from 1951 at the Lajos Kossuth University of Debrecen. In January of 1957 he was appointed rector of the Lajos Kossuth University. During his time as rector he focused on protecting the university's autonomy and the reestablishment of departments of western languages. After only six month in the rector position the Hungarian Government removed him from the role and appointed a new rector without any consultation with the University Senate.
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DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN
146-179Views:185At the end of the 20th century, information technology initiated revolutionary changes. The first inter-university networks, established by American universities, rapidly transformed the internet into a global system, soon reaching Europe and countries behind the Iron Curtain. In Hungary, higher education institutions were the first to recognize the opportunities presented by this new technology, and in the early 1990s, they commenced the development of internationally competitive networks. At that time, Debrecen was home to several independent universities and colleges, which set the objective of creating a unified IT infrastructure. This development was facilitated by state funding and the lifting of the Eastern technology embargo, which enabled the adoption of advanced Western network devices and protocols. By the autumn of 1994, a city-wide optical fiber backbone network had been completed, providing high-speed data transmission between campuses using FDDI technology. The implemented system integrated 12 kilometers of optical cable, more than twenty connected buildings, and over one thousand computers, offering a bandwidth of 100 Mbit/s—ten times the capacity of contemporary Ethernet networks. Initially, the network provided essential services such as internet access, email, and shared printing, while also laying the groundwork for future integrated systems, including academic and administrative records. The city network, named UDNet, thus represented not only a significant technological innovation but also established a stable foundation for the long-term development of information technology at the University of Debrecen.
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REZSŐ BOGNÁR PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY, RECTOR MAGNIFICUS OF THE KOSSUTH LAJOS UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES BETWEEN THE ACADEMIC YEARS 1951-54. AND 1973-75
3-23Views:319Rezső Bognár graduated from the József Nádor University of Technology and Economics in Budapest and worked beside Géza Zemplén at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Applied Sciences unil 1950. At the age of 35 he already became a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He moved to Debrecen as an academic, where he organised the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University's newly established Faculty of Natural Sciences. The four decades he has spent in Debrecen have spread far beyond the walls of the institute, since he was rector of the university for a total of five academic years, and vice-rector for seven academic years, both positions he has held on two occasions. He played a particularly significant role in enabling the Debrecen Academic Committee to start its work in 1976 and to build its headquarters in Debrecen.
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Report of the international workshop Science between Tradition and Innovation: Historical Perspectives
153-160Views:276Conference Review on the workshop of Science between Tradition and Innovation: Historical Perspectives. On 28th and 29th of May 2019 ’The Patterns of the Circulation of Scientific Knowledge in Hungary, 1770–1830’ research group organized the conference on Science between Tradition and Innovation: Historical Perspectives in Szekfű Gyula Library (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest). The programme of the conference was based on the English and German papers of the Hungarian, Czech, Austrian and German guests and the members of the research group of history of science at Eötvös Loránd University Institute of History. The principle aim of the conference was to negotiate the East-Central European context of the problem of tradition and innovation which has become well-known in recent studies of history of science and cultural history. Periodically, the conference framed the frequently underrated, eighteenth-century period of early modern scientific culture. The thematic panels and papers investigated the historical and analitical implications of the long eighteenth century paying special attention to such questions as of the use of concepts, scientific practices, knowledge production, transfer processes, and scientific disciplines.
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85 YEARS OF ENGLISH STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN: ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION WITH THE PREVIOUS DIRECTORS
227-248Views:687In 2023 the University of Debrecen's Institute of English and American Studies celebrates the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Department of English and thus the launching of an English studies degree program at the University of Debrecen. The history of the institute and the careers and achievements of its prominent figures have been the subject of a dedicated volume and a number of studies. The aim of the present roundtable is to explore, with the involvement of some of the former directors of the Institute, the less known aspects of its past that are of relevance for the history of the university as well, nuanced by personal recollections, linking the past with the present and the future. The discussion was initiated and moderated by Balázs Venkovits, the current director of the Institute, and involved four former directors, Zoltán Abádi Nagy, István Rácz, Péter Szaffkó and Zsolt Virágos.
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ENDRE TÓTH, PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY, BETWEEN 1947 AND 1950, DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF THEOLOGY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN, BETWEEN 1950 AND 1958, DEAN OF THE REFORMED THEOLOGICAL ACADEMY OF DEBRECEN
Views:454The life and work of Endre Tóth (1899–1970), a reformed theological professor and church historian, first in Pápa and later in Debrecen, is a unique Hungarian 20th-century intellectual destiny. While his quiet character made him averse to official duties, the troubled historical circumstances forced him to hold serious church offices for decades. He held various posts at the Reformed Theological Academy of Pápa and the Transdanubian Reformed Church District from the mid-1920s for two decades, then became professor at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Debrecen between 1947 and 1950. He was then professor at the Reformed Theological Academy, after the Theological Faculty seceded from the State University and operated under the Reformed College, and dean for a decade from 1948. It is also thanks to his wisdom and humility that the pastoral education in Debrecen, while maintaining its former academic quality, has survived perhaps the most difficult decade in its history without serious losses. Under the direction of Endre Tóth, in 1950 the separation from the state university, the move to the college, the admission of theology students from Sárospatak after the nationalization of schools, and the processing of the upheavals of the 1956 events took place, while the Transtibiscan District changed bishops twice (when he arrived in Debrecen, Imre Révész, his predecessor at the department, was still the bishop; after 1948, János Péter, and from 1957 Tibor Bartha was the bishop). In addition to his work as head of an institution, he also performed educational and scientific activities as a church historian.
