About AHEA

The American Hungarian Educators Association (AHEA) was founded in 1974 to promote Hungarian language, literature, history, and culture in North American academic institutions. AHEA brings together educators, researchers, and scholars from universities, colleges, and schools across the United States, Canada, and Hungary.

“The development of science has not made mankind happier. Science and technology become dangerous whenever overspecialized and isolated… In the spirit of the old ‘Arany János Körök’ a general interest in the sciences should be created; thus we can reduce our isolation, and also perhaps the threat of an isolated technology.”
— Eugene P. Wigner, Nobel Laureate, at the 1976 AHEA Conference

Mission

The American Hungarian Educators Association is a scholarly and professional organization devoted to the teaching and dissemination of Hungarian culture. The Association provides opportunities for those interested in Hungarian studies and Hungarian heritage to further these interests by:

actively supporting ethnic and multicultural programs to broaden awareness, within the United States, of Hungarian contributions to civilization;
deepening the appreciation for Hungarian culture among Americans of Hungarian origin;
encouraging the maintenance of the Hungarian language and Hungarian studies in English;
as a heritage organization, preserving historical documents and artifacts as close as possible to their place of creation.

The AHEA is open to cooperation with all groups interested in supporting Hungarian culture and Hungarian studies within the United States and Canada, as well as Central European countries with large indigenous Hungarian minorities.

Subject Areas

Cultural Studies/Arts
Education/Social Sciences
History/Political Science
Language/Literature
Music/Folklore
Science/Economics

Activities

Over its history, AHEA has organized and supported a range of cultural and scholarly activities, including:

Hungarian Picnic — a twice-yearly gathering for Hungarians and friends in the Washington, DC area
Homecoming Forum (with the Hungarian Embassy and the Hungarian-America Foundation) — a forum for the exchange of ideas among Hungarians studying and working in the US
Support for sessions at professional organizations on Hungarian topics
Liaison for the Smithsonian Institution’s 1976 Festival of American Folklife — Hungary was the only Eastern European country able to participate, because local support was forthcoming
Presentation of position papers to, and testimony before, the President’s Commission on Language and International Studies

Leadership & Governance

The Board of Directors of the Association is made up of the Officers, the Members-at-Large, the Membership Development Chair, and the appointed Ex Officio members.

Officers (2025–2027)

President: Zsuzsanna Varga, University of Glasgow, Scotland
Vice-President: Andrew Behrendt (Newsletter Editor), Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO
Secretary: Nóra Deák, Secretariat of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest
Treasurer: Katalin Vörös, University of California, Berkeley
Immediate Past President: Helga Lénárt-Cheng, St. Mary’s College of California, Moraga, CA

Members-at-Large

Sarah Lucas, Texas A&M University, Kingsville
Éva Petrás, Committee of National Remembrance (NEB), Budapest
Mari Réthelyi, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA

Membership Development Chair: Katalin Kádár Lynn, Helena History Press

Ex Officio

Nominating Committee Chair: Judith Kesserű Némethy, New York University
Editor-in-Chief, Hungarian Cultural Studies: Anna Fenyvesi, University of Szeged
AHEA Webmaster: Klára Papp, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Governance documents:

Publications

American Hungarian Educator — the newsletter of the Association, edited by Enikő M. Basa, reported on the annual conference and members’ meeting and carried announcements about books, programs, scholarships, and general news: Volume I (1978) – Volume XLII (2020).
Newsletter — as of December 2020, the Membership Committee publishes a monthly newsletter, edited by Andrew Behrendt, featuring the President’s Corner, Member Spotlight, upcoming publications, and conference news.
Hungarian Cultural Studies — the Association’s peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal, publishing selected conference papers and other articles of interest to Hungarian Studies (launched 2008).

Contact

For general inquiries please use our contact form.

Est. 1974

AHEA celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026 — five decades of promoting Hungarian culture and scholarship in North America.