Your Magnificence, Honorable Rector,
Magnificencies, Spectabilities and Honorabilities,
Honoured guests,
Dear academic community of the University of Prešov,
please accept sincere greetings of the rectors of Slovak universities and colleges on the occasion of the opening of the new academic year 2025/2026.
I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize the contribution of university education to society and to individuals, that we can include into the concept of "public good". This term is difficult to define precisely, but we understand its content and meaning. I also see its reflection in the motto of the University of Prešov - "magis quam eruditio". Since I myself work professionally at a university outside the capital city, I often have to advocate for higher education institutions bringing education, knowledge and prosperity to the regions. Universities, wherever they operate, bring education, social development and economic benefit.
The University of Prešov began writing its history on January 1, 1997, on the basis of already functioning faculties of the P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, which were established and operated in Prešov. After 28 years of independent existence, the university with eight faculties of various specializations is one of the largest in Slovakia. According to statistical data for the last academic year, the University of Prešov was the 4th largest university in terms of the number of students (8,342). The history of higher education in the royal city of Prešov began to be written much earlier, in 1667 with the establishment of the College of Upper Hungarian States - better known as the Evangelical College ("Collegium statuum evangelicorum superioris Hungariae") educating priests, lawyers and teachers - intellectuals and the social elite of its time. As stated by rector and historian Professor Peter Kónya in the publication "350 years of higher education in Prešov" (2018), it was "a certain early modern example of a public university", because its founder was not the Church nor the Monarch, but the self-government units of noblemen ("stolice") and free royal cities of Upper Hungary, that "collectively participated in its construction, financing, provision, management and control". Higher education in Prešov has a centuries-old tradition and benefits not only the city itself, but also the Šariš region and Slovakia.
I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank the rector of the University of Prešov for his tireless efforts to get closer to the partner Hungarian Rectors' Conference. In 2018 as well as in June of this year, we had the opportunity - precisely in the beautiful premises of the evangelical college and thanks to the organizational support of the Prešov University in Prešov, to discuss with our Hungarian partners what is happening in higher education. In our joint statement, we recognize the diversity of the scope and mission of higher education institutions, as well as the diversity of students who apply for higher education. We declared the need to provide them with quality education and a safe space with the aim of permanently ensuring social benefit from the operation of universities (2025).
The idea of universities as a "public good" emphasizes that they are not just educational institutions, that educate the workforce. It doesn´t reduce the entity of a person only to his economic contribution, efficiency - a person is neither a resource nor a number. It gives a person the right to intellectual development, a spiritual dimension. It recognizes human as a complex being. It doesn´t see the real value of a person only in his/her ability to produce, create or contribute to the economy, but also in his/her spiritual, intellectual and emotional dimension. Every person has the right to education, growth and knowledge in order to fully utilize their potential and live life to the fullest. Universities are a place where an individual develops his/her intellectual and moral capacities in interaction with teachers and peers. Universities thus help build a society based on values such as respect, dignity and solidarity, but also integrity. In a broader sense, universities thus support a cultured, fair and sustainable society.
Even the motto of the University of Prešov "more than education" refers to the demanding mission of academic institutions, regardless of their location, professional focus, etc. It is unfortunate for society, if universities - lux mentium - are called useless, when their number is criticized without valid arguments, there is constant talk of poor quality, although they have all undergone institutional accreditation, several have international professional accreditations and are part of alliances such as European Universities. Each university was established for the purpose and with the mission of raising and educating highly qualified experts, carrying out science, research and artistic or other creative activities. Universities have a social responsibility and operate in the spirit of democratic values, which are the basic essence of free societies. Education, science, research, innovation, art and other creative activities are engines of development and competitiveness for our society.
Therefore, may the new academic year be successful for all of us, full of knowledge and inspiration, mutual cooperation and respect, although we are facing a very challenging economic times.
Vivat academia!
Illustration photo: PU