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The PAPAL RECOGNITION OF THE THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAGYSZOMBAT (TRNAVA) IN 1635
89-125Views:113It 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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The DEPARTMENT OF DERMATOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN IS 100-YEAR OLD
131-153Views:52The Department of Dermatology at the University of Debrecen celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021. However, the year 2021 did not allow us celebrate this important anniversary properly, due to the COVID pandemic, so the festive meeting in honor of the Centenary and this commemorative article were organized and completed in the spring of 2023. History of the past 100 years of the Department of Dermatology is presented reviewing the main developmental steps in patient care, education, and research, remembering the legacy of our former colleagues and directors, furthermore to provide an opportunity to all employees of the University and independent readers to gain insights into this interesting, more than hundred years’ medical history of dermatology in Debrecen.
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JÁNOS HANKISS, PROFESSOR of LITERATURE, RECTOR MAGNIFICUS OF ISTVÁN TISZA HUNGARIAN ROYAL UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1944/45.
11-30Views:177János Hankiss started his academic career at the University of Debrecen in 1920. In the distinguished community of his peers who taught at our university between the two world wars, János Hankiss indubitably belonged to the top professionals. If a university’s academic rank is determined not only by its local or national prestige but also by its international recognition and appreciation, then in this latter frame of reference it was perhaps Professor Hankiss who did most to put Debrecen on the map for Europe and beyond. Indeed, he would share his knowledge not only within the confines of the University: he was a popularizer of scholarship and of the literary culture who was ready to move beyond the narrow limits of his immediate professional field and to address a larger audience. Besides, his name is also associated with the still extant quarterly periodical Debreceni Szemle [Debrecen Review] and Debrecen University’s International Summer School.
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LAST RADIO INTERVIEW OF PÉTER ADLER, PROFESSOR OF STOMATOLOGY IN DEBRECEN
279-286Views:85With the legacy of Professor Péter Adler, we received a tape recording. On this a radio interview with himself can be heard. The radio-report was broadcast in 1983. Here he gives a detailed account about his life, work, and achievements. The information and data presented significantly contribute to the understanding of the period and gives insight to the operation of the Stomatology Clinic. The interview was made in the year of his passing, so it is a sort of sum up and a closure to his career. The report is approx. 20 minutes long, which is published in its entirety in this article.
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„Non procul ex proprio stipite poma cadunt”, avagy a „két Kolosváry” élete az egyetemtörténet tükrében
23 - 41Views:214Non procul ex proprio stipite poma cadunt, or the Life of the „two Kolosvárys” in the Mirror of the Univerity History. In my study, I intend to introduce the history of the Faculty. The study outlines the life’s work of father and son, who are closely related to the legal history embedded in the history of the University. They both were closely connected with the city, and in addition to their teaching activities they also played an active role in the social life of Cluj-Napoca: they were chief editors of the papers and presidents of scientific and civil associations. Alexander Kolosváry has played a prominent role in the life of the University and within the Faculty of Law. He was four times the dean of the Faculty and once held the post of rector. In addition, he coproduced the Hungarian translation of Tripartitum and Corpus Juris Hungarici with Professor Clement Óvári. Valentine Kolosváry was considered one of the biggest private lawyers of the century at the time. Valentine Kolosváry was a worthy successor to his father, not only as a head of department at the University but also in the patronage of the Reformed Church of John Calvin and Church Districts and its rights.
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ZOLTÁN VARGA, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY RECTOR MAGNIFICUS OF LAJOS KOSSUTH UNIVERSITY DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1955-1957
Views:21Zoltán 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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Béla Pukánszky researcher and artist
25-31Views:122In 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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CONSTANT VALUES IN A CHANGING WORLD- 35 YEARS OF THE SÁNTHA KÁLMÁN FACULTY COLLEGE OF ADVANCED STUDIES
242-352Views:277Student organisations, clubs and associations are always a distinctive and often dominant feature of universities in Hungary and abroad. Their purpose, and sometimes their function, is to cater to students' needs and areas of professional activity not covered by regular education and/or not covered in an orthodox way. The structure of higher education in Hungary, and in particular medical education, is rigid, partly due to the rules of the discipline, with lectures, seminars and practicals organised within a strictly regulated framework, which many believe does not provide sufficient scope to fully meet the dynamically changing needs of students, and thus the latest professional trends and technologies, as well as societal issues. Furthermore, the pressures of a busy curriculum and lack of time often do not allow for immediate reflection, experience, and processing of the challenges of our rapidly changing world. The organizations promoting students’ participation in research and various student-initiated organizations serve to fill this apparent gap and to meet the needs of students and teachers. The most prominent of these, in our opinion, is the Sántha Kálmán Faculty College of Advanced Studies, which has existed at the University of Debrecen and its predecessors for 35 years in an ever-changing form, constantly reborn like a phoenix. In this reminiscence, we are summarising the history of the founding and activities of the Sántha Kálmán Faculty College of Advanced Studies, relying on our own memories and experiences, archived documents, and the detailed accounts of former and current members.
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History of the Stomatology Clinic of the University of Debrecen under the Leadership of Professor József Szentpétery and Gusztáv Keszthelyi (1979-2000)
Views:230History of the Stomatology Clinic in Debrecen under the Leadership of Professor József Szentpétery and Professor Gusztáv Keszthelyi (1979–2000). From July 1, 1979 József Szentpétery was appointed to lead the Stomatology Clinic in Debrecen. His main task was the curriculum-development of dental education, that started three years ago and to bring it closer to the curriculum of other Hungarian universities.
The lack of staff and facility also made it difficult to organize education. He brought teachers from Szeged and employed fresh graduates. In 1981 the new building of the clinic was completed.
From July 1986 Professor Gusztáv Keszthelyi became the director of the clinic. He completed the reconstruction of Oral Surgery, established a new lecture room and created departments. In 1997-98 he created a new phantom practice room, thus more students could attend the 3rd year preclinical practice. He inspired lecturers to do scientific work. Between 1994–2001 nine lecturers were awarded with scientific degrees. He wrote and edited a textbook that survived 2 editions. He went to early retirement in 2001, was later appointed Professor emeritus and returned to teach in Hungarian and in English.
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COLLECTION OF PAINTED PORTRAITS OF UNIVERSITY LEADERS, DEBRECEN
Views:19Painted portraits of former institution leaders - almost all of them painted by János Dienes - still decorate the Rector's Council Room and the corridor of the University of Debrecen's Main Building. The paintings were once part of a gallery of more than thirty portraits of the great figures of the university. The Hall of Portraits - the existence of which is attested by documents and photographs from the period - has survived only in fragments. However, research has revealed that several pieces of the collection are currently kept in the Déri Museum in Debrecen.
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The LEADERS OF THE AGRICULTURAL HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS OF DEBRECEN BETWEEN 1868 AND 1945
79-88Views:135. In 2018, Debrecen's agricultural higher education celebrated a century and a half since its foundation. In the decades since, it has become the country's leading professional education institute for agriculture. It was born in the post-1867 Reconciliation era, realising the vision of the city's farmer society, in line with the state's engagement, which extended the scope of central power, and gave a new impetus to Hungarian education policy and helped to launch the modernisation of Hungarian agriculture. This special anniversary has inspired the chroniclers of our times to provide an overview of the scholarly teachers of a century and a half who were school founders, who were at the head of the institution for a considerable period of time, and whose activities included enhancing the quality of Hungarian agricultural higher education. The articles in the university history journal, Gerundium, serve this purpose.
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LÁSZLÓ KÁDÁR, PROFESSOR OF GEOGRAPHY, RECTOR OF LAJOS KOSSUTH UNIVERSITY DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1954-55
15-32Views:75László Kádár started his adademic carreer at the Lajos Kossuth University in 1947 and was a distinguised professor untill his retirement (1978). In the academic year 1952-54 he functioned as the dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences. In the next year (1954/55) he became the rector of the University Lajos Kossuth.
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JÁNOS BODNÁR, PROFESSOR OF MEDICAL CHEMISTRY, RECTOR MAGNIFICUS OF ISTVÁN TISZA HUNGRIAN ROYAL UNIVERSITY DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 1943-44.
3-10Views:165János Bodnár as professor and chair of the Institute of Medical Chemistry taught not only the first year medical students but, as a subject lecturer– owing to the lack of faculty of natural sciences – at the faculty of humanities he also took part in natural sciences teacher training of the teacher candidates. In addition, he also offered courses to those students who intended to obtain a doctoral degree.
In the academic year of 1943–44 he served as rector of the University of Debrecen, which was hard work because of the wartime climate and existence. In the following academic year, 1944 – 1945, he again took part in the management of the university as deputy rector since the newly appointed rector, János Hankiss got stuck in Budapest because of the war events. He concentrated on the temporary reconstruction of the war damages and he endeavoured to ensure the availability of the facilities of education.
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The FOUNDATION AND THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS OF THE HEALTH COLLEGE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN
253-278Views:100The article reviews the circumstances of the foundation and dynamic development of the Health College during its first two decades when, with extensive Hungarian and international cooperation, four programs were launched in the college, which had not existed previously in Hungary. In addition, several other programs, that up till that time had been available only in Budapest, were initiated. As a result of the dynamic training development, the number of students increased significantly by the end of the nineties. Because of the increase enrollment, the College was struggling with a significant lack of space, consequently beginning in 1997 developing and improving the infrastructure became increasingly critical. By taking over and repairing old and erecting new buildings the college significantly expanded by several thousand square meters. Additionally, the dormitory of the college was also renovated. The creation of the college was part of the national concept and strategy in the nineties aimed at establishing and expanding higher education for healthcare workers. In the first twenty years, six new programs were launched at the college, and by the end of the 2000s, the institution was able to start a master degree.The rate at which the college was developing was somewhat broken or slowed down by the transformation of higher education in the 2000s, the start and the storms of university integration, the introduction of the Bologna system, and the accompanying structural transformations. The college successfully faced the obstacles, and tried to take advantage of the opportunities arising from the new systems. The 2000’s saw the creation of new bachelor programs, specializations and master programs, including some that had not existed in our country before.The overview of the history of the first twenty years is inseparable from Dr. Zsolt Lukácskó, who was the founding director general of the college and then, after it had been declared to be a faculty, its first dean until 2007.
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Egy kis egyetemtörténet anekdotákban
165-174Views:345THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY IN STORIES. he writing remembers the teachers of the Reformed heological Faculty of the Debrecen University in anecdotes. he work and academic activities of the cited professors are commemorated through interesting stories and funny anecdotes. he author describes these professors amicably and amusingly as nice people who seem sometimes rigorous or eccentric, and who strived to maintain the high quality of academic work.
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The HISTORY OF CARDIAC SURGERY IN DEBRECEN
262-284Views:59The establishment of cardiac surgery in Debrecen is closely interlinked with thoracic surgery. This activity started and continued for many decades at the Auguszta Sanatorium, later the University of Debrecen's Department of Surgery II, which housed thoracic surgery at the time. In the Auguszta Sanatorium, which was nationalised after World War II, a thoracic surgery department was established in 1948, under the direction of Dr. József Schnitzler, whose professional interests in the 1960s turned towards cardiac surgery. He found a suitable partner for his groundbreaking goal in the pioneering work of Hungarian cardiac surgery, Dr. Árpád Eisert, a leading surgeon of the Jósa András County Hospital in Nyíregyháza. As a result of their exemplary professional cooperation, the first closed heart surgery was performed in Debrecen in 1963. The heart-lung machine required for cardiopulmonary bypass necessary to start open heart operations was provided by a donation from Béla Köteles, the son of Hungarian emigrants born in America, who founded his own instrument manufacturing company there. The first open heart surgery was performed by visiting professor Gábor Kovács from Szeged with Professor Schnitzler in 1968. In 1972, András Gömöry was entrusted with the management of cardiac surgery, and he succeeded in creating a team of highly qualified doctors and specialists even under the prevailing difficult circumstances. This, provided a solid basis for further development within the field. In 1983, after the retirement of Professor Schnitzler, Árpád Péterffy, Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, was appointed as Head of the Department of Surgery II. Due to the knowledge, professional and work organisation experience he had gained abroad, cardiac surgery in Debrecen developed with great strides. The number of operations increased significantly, while the mortality rate was reduced by a third. He managed to acquire a new building for cardiac surgery in 1993, which created the opportunity for further development. The new building significantly improved the quantity and quality of cardiac surgery and made Debrecen an internationally recognised flagship of Hungarian cardiac surgery. Due to his work in international exchanges his students were able to improve their knowledge in Western European countries and elsewhere overseas. After his retirement in 2008, he continued to work as Professor Emeritus in our clinic, remaining fully committed to supporting our work, the development of cardiac surgery in Debrecen, and the preservation and enhancement of its reputation. As his professional successor, Associate Professor Tamás Szerafin was entrusted with the leadership of the cardiac surgery department. Together with his colleagues, their aim has been to preserve and further develop the patient-centred spirit and professional dedication of their predecessors, and to preserve the built heritage.
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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:154Béla 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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INSTRUCTONS ABOUT MY LIBRARY: THE LIBRARY OF LÁSZLÓ ORSZÁGH
199-239Views:79In a detailed letter, László Országh decided the fate of his library already in the mid-seventies, the original handwritten form of which is kept in the University and National Library of the University of Debrecen. We are publishing the letter in its original form.
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Inscrutable Students.Searching for Enemy in Hungarian Universities at the Beginning of Fifties
Views:179„Unknowable Students”. „Searching for the Enemy” at the Hungarian Universities in the Beginning of the Fifties. The Communist Party organization of Hungarian universities, in order to fulfil one of their main tasks, i.e. to “unmask the enemy”, attempted to gather a lot of information about the students. They collected data through admission procedures about their class-origin, which was reckoned as basic indicator of their political reliability, while functionaries tried to force them to verbalize their opinion and to comment daily political events in obligatory courses of Marxism-Leninism and in other formal and informal discussions. Besides the identification of the “enemy”, the forcing of political statements had the purpose to get the chance to correct them. However, the overstraining of political issues, the circulating process of re-learning the same parts of Communist ideology over and over again, along with the overreaction of functionaries to politically “incorrect” opinions led to an unwanted effect. Reports on the effectiveness of contemporary practices of indoctrination stated several times that the ideological dissemination of knowledge does not provide some students with a world view, but rather a practical knowledge: the students, instead of revealing their real thoughts “learned to speak Marxism”.
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The FRENCH DEPARTMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN BETWEEN 1957-2023
Views:18The French Department of the University of Debrecen has existed in its present form since 1957, that is when after several years of forced hiatus, Western language departments were reopened in universities in the country. The following summary covers the period since then.
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CHIEF OF MEDICINE JÓZSEF CZAKÓ, WHO ESTABLISHED CLINICAL INSTITUTIONS IN MAROSVÁSÁRHELY SERVING THE HUNGARIAN LANGUAGE MEDICAL EDUCATION: The Story of the First Heart Surgery in Transylvania
67-78Views:140The study deals with the life and work of dr. József Czakó, chief of medicine, sanatorium director, university professor, about whom very little summary has been written so far. He tries to bring important historical medical data out of obscurity and save them for posterity, which are related to the establishment of the Marosvásárhely Sanatorium and the first heart surgery performed in Transylvania, by organizing the New Hospital, as well as the Hungarian-language medical training that started in 1944 at Marosvásárhely. By using specialized literary sources and unique documents, as well as based on the author's own experiences, relying on the Czakó legacy, he saves the important data, which reveals new information and important details about the health conditions of the small town at the beginning of the last century.
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THE AMBASSADOR OF THE RECOMMENCEMENT: ISTVÁN BENCSIK (1953-1970)
5-14Views:89Agriculture played a significant role in consolidating the domestic political system after 1956. The rapid development of the Hungarian agricultural sector's performance contributed significantly to the country's relations with the economically developed regions of the world, with the so-called Hungarian model incorporating backyard farming into large-scale agriculture. However, this progress was achieved through an arduous road to development, resulting in internationally recognised vocational training standards in agriculture, particularly in higher agricultural education. Since the second half of the 1960s, there has been a noticeable development in the agricultural sector in Hungary. It has managed to preserve the creative traditions of its historical peasantry to a certain extent. The Debrecen agricultural higher education had a decisive role in the ambitious development of Hungarian agriculture. István Bencsik was an outstanding player in this process, actively contributing to the material and intellectual foundation of higher education in Debrecen. His work later impacted the agriculture of Tiszántúl and the wider region.
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To the Critical Period of the History of the University of Pozsony 1914–1923
142-156Views:130Elizabeth 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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The HISTORY OF THE CLINIC OF NEUROLOGY
234-252Views:90The medical training at the Faculty of Medicine of the Debrecen Hungarian Royal University started in 1921. The Department of Mental and Neurological Diseases began its operation in 1921 at the Magoss György Square (current Bem square) under the leadership of László Benedek. The clinic moved to its new building at the Nagyerdő in 1927. László Benedek was succeeded by István Somogyi in 1937, and by Kálmán Sántha in 1938. Sántha’s main merit was the introduction of neurosurgery procedures and the establishment of the neurosurgery unit in Debrecen. He was convicted with fictional political accusations, and exiled to Balassagyarmat in 1951. Although rehabilitated in 1956, he was unable to return to the clinic in Debrecen. While Sántha worked at Balassagyarmat, the clinic was run by Sándor Rusz. Between 1957 and 1967 Pál Juhász had been the director of the clinic, who established a neurosis unit and EEG laboratory. After a two-year transitional period, László Molnár was appointed to be head of the clinic in 1969. Realizing that stroke is a public health issue, he was among the first who established a cerebrovascular unit in Europe. He was succeeded by László Csiba, who led the clinic between 1992 and 2017. The separation of the Department of Neurology and Department of Psychiaty in 1992, as well as the relocation of the Department of Neurology to the Auguszta area took place during his leadership. Professor Csiba established an excellent stroke center, and introduced reperfusion therapies in Debrecen. Currently, the Department of Neurology is headed by László Oláh.
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REMEMBERING HILDE DE RIDDER-SYMOENS, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF UNIVERSITY HISTORY
259-261Views:43Hilde De Ridder-Symoens, internatonally appretiated professor of Medieval History passed away 5th March 2023 at the age of 80. The Belgian professor was one of the most excellent university historian of her age.
