Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary
Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole Selected for High Honor By Hungarian Government
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Contact: Marina Cunningham, 973-655-4499
mastersonnen@mail.montclair.edu
Ann Frechette, 973-655-4333
frechettea@mail.montclair.edu
MONTCLAIR, NJ--Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole has been selected by the Hungarian government to receive the prestigious "Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary" for her contributions to furthering Hungarian education in the United States.
The official announcement of this decoration of honor will take place on Wednesday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the University's Alexander Kasser Theater before a performance of "BLACKland" by the Krétakör Theater. In attendance will be András Simonyi, Hungarian ambassador to the United States; Dr. András Bozóki, minister of the National Cultural Heritage of Hungary; and Ambassador Gábor Horváth, consul general of Hungary in New York.
The decoration was approved by the Council of Ministers at a recent cabinet meeting of the Hungarian government. Dr. György Csepeli, parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Informatics and Communication, recommended Dr. Cole for the high honor, which includes a document signed by Hungarian Republic President Laszlo Solyom and Prime Minister Ferenc Gyuressány.
In the past three years, Montclair State University has been involved with several Hungarian institutions in academic exchanges and collaborative programming. These include Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, University of Debrecen and the Mohaly Nagy Academy of Art and Design. In 2005, President Cole led a delegation of faculty and students to Hungary to visit those institutions. Following Cole's visit, the Montclair State University Chamber Choir performed at the Liszt Academy.
From February to May 2006, Montclair State University is conducting a Hungarian Festival of the Arts and Humanities in conjunction with the Hungarian Cultural Center of
New York. With generous funding from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities and the Trust for Mutual Understanding, the Festival brings noted Hungarian artists, actors, musicians, critics and scholars to the Montclair State University campus in a variety of programs that include theater performances, a film festival, a series of lectures on Hungarian culture, music concerts and a culinary demonstration by one of Hungary's top chefs.
The well-known Hungarian pianist, Balász Szokolay, is currently a Visiting International Scholar in the MSU Music Department where he is conducting master classes and teaching.MSU is located at the intersection of Valley Road and Normal Avenue in Montclair. The campus is one mile south of the junction of routes 3 and 46, 14 miles west of New York City.
March 6, 2006
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