Professor Tibor Tajti of the Department of Legal Studies and Assistant Professor Levente Littvay of the Department of Political Science were chosen as the recipients of the 2015 CEU Distinguished Teaching Award. The awards were conferred at CEU’s 25th Academic Year Opening Ceremony on September 21, 2015.
“Students feel the optimism, passion, and energy of his teaching,” one student said of Tajti. Others recalled how Tajti “encourages all students to participate and makes them feel comfortable expressing their opinions. Moreover, he creates a professional and friendly environment and helps students to stimulate their analytical and critical skills.”

Littvay “is a fantastic teacher, students love him, and many MA students choose to pursue a PhD at CEU, simply because they want to work with him,” said fellow faculty Erin K. Jenne, associate professor in the Department of International Relations. “He was not only of great help with his advices and guidance, but his moral support and encouragement really helped me in this stressful period of thesis writing,” recalled Trajche Panov, CEU alumnus (POLS ‘09), currently PhD researcher and Instructor at the European University Institute.
The CEU Distinguished Teaching Award was created through a decision of the CEU Senate at the initiative of the Provost. The aim of this new initiative is to recognize CEU faculty members for promoting high standards of teaching, linked with the mission and institutional ambitions of CEU. CEU students, alumni and faculty members were invited to nominate candidates for the award. Nominations were reviewed by the Awards Committee comprised of the Provost, four additional faculty members from across the university, who serve on a rotating basis, and the director of the CTL, who serves ex-officio. The next call for nominations for this award will be announced later this month.
For more information, see http://www.ceu.edu/academics/distinguished-teaching-award