Batthyány Society of Professors

Batthyány Society of Professors
Professzorok Batthyány Köre
Abbreviation PBK
Formation June 3, 1995 (1995-06-03)
Type independent association (NGO), with support from the Batthyány Foundation
Purpose "to provide a framework for the activity of university professors who are strongly committed to traditional European social virtues and are willing to act for a better society"
Headquarters Budapest, Hungary
Region served
 Hungary
President
 Rezső Lovas
Affiliations Batthyány Foundation
Website www.bla.hu/profs

The Batthyány Society of Professors (Hungarian: Professzorok Batthyány Köre) is a Hungarian association of conservative university professors founded in 1995 as a non-governmental organization. Members are committed to what they call "traditional European social virtues" and they aim to "give intellectual stimulation to the Hungarian nation thereby contributing to its spiritual and economic development". The society supports political parties and politicians who "work for a 'civic' Hungary".[1]

The Society is affiliated with the Lajos Batthyány Foundation, an association aiming at the promotion of a "Hungarian political mentality committed to the Hungarian people and nation, focussing[sic!] on European unity and resting on common Christian values and a democratic parliamentary governing".[2]

The Pál Schmitt academic misconduct controversy

On 11 January 2012, Hungarian news portal HVG.hu published an article which claims that material that amounts to around 180 of the 215 pages of Pál Schmitt's 1992 doctoral (dr. univ.) dissertation, entitled "Az újkori olimpiai játékok programjának elemzése" ("An analysis of the programme of the modern Olympics"), had been lifted from a 1987 manuscript by Bulgarian sports researcher Nikolay Georgiev, together with a page's worth of material from a work by Hristo Meranzov and Georgiev.[3] On 19 January, news organizations found that an additional 17 pages had been lifted from a paper by German sport sociologist Klaus Heinemann.[4][5]

On 16 January, several scholars signed a petition asking the rector of the Semmelweis University, the Minister of National Resources, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for a fair, public and transparent investigation of the allegations.[6][7]

On 17 January Physicist Rezső Lovas, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the president of the Batthyány Society of Professors said: "First of all, one should not jump to hasty conclusions. I have not seen Pál Schmitt's dissertation, nor the article he allegedly draw from. There are many ways of drawing from [sources], and there is a continuous transition between citation and explicit plagiarism". He also added that in his opinion it is unlikely that the allegations can be proven valid. He further asked whether there was any evidence presented, stating that the burden of proof is on those accusing Schmitt.[8]

On 29 March, after the Semmelweis University Council decided to initiate the revocation of Schmitt's doctorate, the Society issued a press release saying that "The Doctoral Council has drawn the conclusions on the matter for its part. We hope that the president will do the same." They further state that "at a time when we are suffering from a double standard used against our homeland, it is of utmost importance to have only one standard in our country, and that standard should be applied to everyone. In the current difficult situation that the country is in, there is a need for a president who is respected both home and abroad."[9]

The Batthyány Society of Professors came under criticism because of the handling the case of Schmitt's plagiarism. Because of the support given to Schmitt and the lack of appropriate response an article on hirszerzo.hu termed the right-wing, Christian groups of academics and intelligentsia (such as the PBK, the Hungarian Association for Civic Cooperation and the Society of Christian Intellectuals) the "Schmittpali Society of Professors".[10] A March 31 essay on hvg.hu called the Society "professors abusing the name of Batthyány".[11]

Renowned members

As of March 2012 the Society has 213 members.[12] Some of the more renowned are:

References

  1. ↑ "Batthyány Society of Professors" (in Hungarian). bla.hu. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. ↑ "Batthyány Foundation - About us" (in Hungarian). bla.hu. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  3. ↑ György, Miklós (11 January 2012). "Súlyos plágiumgyanú Schmitt Pál doktori értekezése körül" (in Hungarian). HVG.hu. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  4. ↑ Janecskó, Kata (19 January 2012). "A bolgár után német szál a Schmitt-ügyben" (in Hungarian). Index.hu. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Nem mondott igazat Magyarország elnöke: Schmitt 17 oldalt emelt be egy német kutatótól" (in Hungarian). HVG.hu. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  6. ↑ Gábor Egry, Árpád Welker, Miklós Mitrovits, Péter Torma, Gábor Gelléri, András Tóth, Ágnes Kata Miklós (16 January 2012). "A Schmitt Pál doktori címét illető plágiumgyanú kivizsgálásáért". peticiok.com (in Hungarian). Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "A plágiumgyanú kivizsgálását követelik doktorok". index.hu (in Hungarian). 16 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  8. ↑ Miklós Hargitai, Zoltán Ötvös (17 January 2012). "Schmitt-ügy: a SOTE helyett az akkreditációs testület is vizsgálódhat". nol.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "A professzorok lemondatnák Schmittet" (in Hungarian). index.hu. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  10. ↑ Elek Tokfalvi (2 March 2012). "Professzorok Schmittpali Köre" (in Hungarian). hirszerzo.hu. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  11. ↑ László Seres (31 March 2012). "A kilőhetetlen bulvárkacsa" (in Hungarian). hvg.hu. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "Professzorok Batthyány Köre - Tagjaink" (in Hungarian). bla.hu. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
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