A two-time graduate of the CEU Department of History, Dr. Bojan Aleksov (MA '99, PhD '05) is a Senior Lecturer in Modern Southeast European History at University College London (UCL). He is the author of Religious Dissent in the Age of Modernization and Nationalism: Nazarenes in Hungary and Serbia 1850-1914, a volume based upon his CEU PhD dissertation, among numerous other works.
We caught up with him to ask the value of his CEU experience, why he's supported our alma mater for years, and how alumni best represent both the university and Hungary.
You originally came to CEU in the nineties. What was the value of your experience?
Here, I found my career and occupation—I discovered history. I made lasting friendships, and spent the best years of my life here. Budapest was very welcoming.
It helped professionally?
Yes, the book [based on my dissertation] landed me a job at UCL.
You're a longtime supporter of CEU. Has the 'LexCEU' situation affected that?
I give to maintain a relationship with the university. The LexCEU crisis came as a huge shock. Since then [my support for CEU] has only intensified.
You spoke at this year's alumni reunion in London about how alumni best represent not only CEU but Hungary as well. Can you explain?
As an alumnus, I also feel myself naturally as an ambassador of CEU and Hungary, and I feel this gives me and other alumni a legitimacy ... to say CEU is a wonderful institution. I feel that can only be a good thing for Hungary.