[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12940]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY--AN INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO EDUCATION, 
                      OPENNESS, AND ENLIGHTENMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 15, 1999

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing the achievements of Central European University 
(CEU), one of the newest and most significant forces for intellectual 
and economic progress in Eastern Europe. As I learned during a recent 
visit to the University, CEU's growth and influence are making an 
important contribution to the future of Hungary, the Czech Republic, 
and the other young democracies to the east of the Danube River.
  Ten years ago, as nearly half a century of Soviet domination crumbled 
across the expanse of Central and Eastern Europe, a small collection of 
concerned intellectuals met in Dubrovnik in the former Yugoslavia to 
discuss the future of liberal education and that region. After decades 
of censorship and suppression at the whim of communist governments, 
they hoped to create a new center of academic freedom for citizens of 
all ideological and ethnic backgrounds. The labors of these far-sighted 
men and women led to the birth of Central European University, which 
has rapidly developed into one of Europe's leading centers of higher 
education.
  Central European University, which claimed 100 students in its first 
year of existence (1991), now has an enrollment of 660 students from 
over 35 countries. CEU's faculty also reflects this diversity, 
featuring 60 professors from 26 countries and a host of prestigious 
visiting educators from top-level institutions throughout Europe and 
North America. These leading scholars help to foster an environment 
free of the political and philosophical rigidity of Eastern Europe's 
communist past, allowing young minds to flourish.
  CEU's remarkable renaissance can be attributed principally to the 
generosity of George Soros, a Hungarian immigrant who came to the 
United States as a refuge from Nazism. He has become one of America's 
most successful and respected financial leaders, and he has donated 
hundreds of millions of dollars to important social and economic causes 
around the world. The Open Society Institute, founded by Soros to 
promote freedom in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet 
Union, has immeasurably advanced the social and political climate in 
the newly free countries in this region. The Central European 
University is one of many pro-education, pro-openness, and pro-liberty 
projects funded by George Soros since the collapse of the Soviet 
Empire. Mr. Speaker, I invite all of my colleagues to join me 
commending this outstanding philanthropist for all he has done to 
further these vital objectives during the past decade.
  Mr. Speaker, last March I had the opportunity to attend the Central 
European University's conference entitled ``Between Past and Future''. 
This gathering featured a wealth of insight opinions from leaders 
including former anti-communist dissident and current Budapest Mayor 
Gabor Demszky, Czech Deputy Foreign Minister and human rights activist 
Martin Palous, and numerous other authorities on the future of Central 
and Easter Europe. Respected media figures--among them New York times 
journalist R.W. Apple, Time magazine political correspondent James 
Carney, and NBC news correspondent Claire Shipman--also participated. 
The conference addressed some of the region's most pressing issues, 
ranging from ethnic nationalism to political stability in Hungary, 
Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, 
Macedonia, and other countries in the area. The presentations and 
discussions greatly impressed me, as did CEU's wisdom in organizing 
this excellent event.
  It is my hope that Central European University will serve as a role 
model for intellectual openness and academic excellence throughout all 
of the nations formerly dominated by the Soviet Union. I am confident 
that the CEU will help to mold a new generation of citizens encumbered 
by the social and cultural restrictions forced upon their parents and 
grandparents, young leaders who are intellectually and ideologically 
prepared to build new societies atop the moral foundation on liberty 
and freedom that we Americans has cherished for centuries.
  Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to 
the wonderful accomplishments and unlimited promise of Central European 
University.

                          ____________________