Sacked feminist historian sues

An academic scandal that rocked the Soros-founded Central European University comes before the courts in Hungary next week when a feminist historian dismissed from the gender studies programme sues for reinstatement.

Andrea Peto was dismissed last June after working at the Budapest-based university for nine years. Her dismissal came less than a year after a new rector, Yehuda Elkana, took office.

The university said the gender studies programme needed reorganising and dismissed its newly appointed director, Bulgarian professor Miglena Nikolchina, before telling Dr Peto to go.

Dr Peto was given just hours to clear her desk. She said nine years' worth of research notes, articles and data stored on her office computer were lost when the university disconnected her from the central server on the same day.

Istvan Teplan, executive vice-president of CEU, said that the CEU honoured its legal obligations by giving Dr Peto three months' notice and severance pay.

Professor Nikolchina filed a complaint with the American Association of University Professors and was offered a different post within the CEU, but he resigned after returning to Budapest to denounce the rector and urge students to rebel.