In 2023 the University of Debrecen's Institute of English and American Studies celebrates the 85^th 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.