Sociologist Iván Szelényi, Honorary Doctor of Corvinus, has passed away

Iván Szelényi (1938–2026) graduated in 1960 with a degree in foreign trade from the Karl Marx University of Economic Sciences, the predecessor of Corvinus University of Budapest. He began his career at the Library of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), before joining the Institute of Sociology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) in 1965, where he later served as head of department. 

In 1964, he studied at the University of California, Berkeley as a Ford Fellow. In 1974, following the smuggling abroad of the manuscript of The Intellectuals on the Road to Class Power, co-authored with György Konrád, he was arrested and subsequently expelled from Hungary in 1975. 

He then built an international academic career: he served as a visiting professor at the University of Kent, before founding the Department of Sociology at Flinders University in Australia. Later, he worked as department chair at several American universities—including Wisconsin, CUNY, and UCLA—and in 1999, he was appointed Professor at Yale University. 

Following the regime change, he once again became a key figure in Hungarian academic life: he earned his Doctor of Sciences (DSc) degree in 1990 and was elected a full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1995. He served as President of the Hungarian Sociological Association, was a member of the MTA Committee on Sociology, and was an Honorary Citizen of Budapest. 

His international recognition is demonstrated by his election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2000, as well as his service on the editorial boards of numerous prestigious international journals. In addition, he was William Graham Sumner Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Political Science at Yale University, Founding Dean of Social Sciences and Max Weber Professor Emeritus at New York University Abu Dhabi, and held honorary doctorates from Corvinus University, Flinders University, Friedrich-Alexander University, the European University Institute, and Central European University. 

He was awarded the Luckmann Distinguished Teaching Award by the University of California, while the Hungarian state recognized his life’s work with the Széchenyi Prize. 

As an alumnus of our university, Iván Szelényi left an enduring mark on the history of the Corvinus community. We will cherish his memory with deep respect. 

TÁRKI Inc.’s commemoration can be read in the social research institute’s Facebook post. 

Portrait photograph by: György Kenéz