Fulbright Commission Appoints New Executive Director for Hungary
The Hungarian-American Commission for Educational Exchange (“Fulbright Commission”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Károly Jókay as Executive Director, effective November 1, 2012. The Commission was established by the US Department of State and by the Hungarian Ministry of Education. The Commission is governed by a 10 member Board representing Hungarian academia, the Ministries of Human Resources and Foreign Affairs, as well as American diplomats and business people appointed by the Ambassador.
Dr. Jókay succeeds the retiring Dr. Huba Brückner, who has superbly led the Commission since it was formed in 1992. Under Dr. Brückner’s leadership, Fulbright concludes the 20th Anniversary Year of the Commission in Hungary, commemorating the academic and professional exchange of over 900 scholars, students, high school teachers and professionals with their US counterparts. Dr. Jókay expects to build upon this heritage of excellence by expanding Fulbright’s reach to traditionally underrepresented scholars from rural areas, the Roma community as well as to people with different disabilities. Furthermore, strengthening ties with private sector donors as well as establishing new relationships with American universities are both important objectives for the new Director.
An expert in municipal finance and bankruptcy, Jókay taught courses in municipal finance, public budgeting and public management in the Department of Public Policy at Central European University since 2005. Jókay has extensive consulting experience in Central and Eastern European countries, including Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Romania. Previously as a regular consultant to the World Bank, Jókay has completed projects on municipal bond disclosure standards, public utility transformation and regulation in the municipal services sector, as well as municipal debt regulation. Of Hungarian extraction, he was born in Chicago, earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan and has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois. Jókay, who moved to Hungary in 1994, is active in several civil society organizations, established a family foundation to support the education of poor, rural children in the High School of the Reformed Church in Pápa.
Press release in English
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Interview in Lánchíd Radio
