open society university network
education for the global good by James Rodewald ’82
Bard College has been—among many other things—a haven for distinguished writers, artists, intellectuals, and scientists fleeing Nazism; site of a World War II Army Specialized Training Program for elite soldiers studying languages or engineering; refuge for Hungarian students exiled after participating in the 1956 revolution against the Stalinist government; leader in the early college movement; and advocate for the underserved. Through all the ups and downs, political twists and turns, social upheavals, and humanitarian crises, Bard has been steadfast in its commitment to freedom, human dignity, and education for the common good. 30 open society university network
An expansion of that commitment occurred in January, when financier George Soros announced a $1 billion donation from his Open Society Foundations (OSF) to support a new international network of universities with the aim of promoting “critical thinking, open intellectual inquiry, and fact-based research to strengthen foundations of open society amid authoritarian resurgence.” The Open Society University Network (OSUN) is jointly led by Bard and Central European University (CEU), a graduate institution founded by Soros in Budapest that was forced to move its center of operations
illustration Michelle Gutiérrez ’19
