Soros Pledges $206-Million to Hungarian University

George Soros, the international financier and philanthropist, has pledged $206-million to the endowment of Central European University, a Budapest graduate school founded shortly after the collapse of Eastern Europe’s Communist regimes.

The university generally teaches in English and takes a critical, Western-style approach to the social sciences and humanities in a region where such an approach was once banned. The university said the gift, to be provided at the start of the next academic year, would bring the endowment’s value to about $486-million. Mr. Soros, who helped found the university and has been a major benefactor ever since, also announced a pledge of $24-million for its business school.

“CEU has a unique dual identity and can serve as a bridge across many divides,” Mr. Soros, a Hungarian-American, said in a written statement. “The increase in its endowment provides CEU with the resources and stability it needs to continue to grow into a world-class research and teaching institution aligned with a mission of promoting open societies.”

The university began operations in 1991 and today has more than 1,000 students, from nearly 60 countries.