Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1998 (15. évfolyam, 51-54. szám)
1998 / 53-54. szám
\M I /ill AMERICAN HUNGARIAN FOUNDATION HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER Foundation Celebrates 45th Anniversary and Founders' Days May 21-23, 1999 The President's Report In 1999 the American Hungarian Foundation celebrates dual anniversary years: the 45th year of its establishment and the tenth year of the opening of the Museum, Library and Archives facility in New Brunswick, N). The building was designed by architect László Papp. You are invited to share in all of the anniversary celebrations, especially the Gala Founders' Days programs on May 21-23, 1999, in New Brunswick, NJ. Events and anniversary programs are planned for other cities also. The three days of events in New Brunswick, N), will include receptions and a preview of the new Museum exhibition for major donors and friends of the Foundation on Friday and Saturday, May 21 and 22. On the evening of May 22 the Anniversary Ball will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The ball and the receptions will also host numerous celebrities and notable national and international guests. "The Hungarian Spark in America”, the new exhibition in the Museum, opens formally on May 23, 1999. It will be the 35th exhibition since the Museum opened in 1989. The exhibition will highlight the extraordinary contributions in the arts, sciences, humanities, commerce, religious and civic life that Hungarians and their descendants have made to our American life since 1776. Recent Museum exhibitions by the Foundation have included the art and works of loseph Dómján, Victor Vasarely, "László Ispanky, The Living Master" and "Suzanne Szász, Her Life and Photographs." Over 75,000 visitors have visited the Museum and the Heritage Center, which includes a Library of 40,000 volumes and major Archival collections. The Archives seeks to document the history and contributions of Hungarians to American life since colonial days. In 1998 the Bethlen Archives, a major archival collection about American Hungarians, their churches and organizations, was deposited with the Foundation. The trustees of the Bethlen Museum & Archives, Inc., have made a $120,000 four year grant to the Foundation to support the cataloging of the Bethlen collection. The William Penn Association founded in 1886 has deposited its archives with the American Hungarian Foundation. The Association is the major fraternal insurance association in America established by Hungarian immigrants. The Association has awarded major grant support totaling, $196,000 over eight years for the Foundation Archives. During the past four decades, the Foundation has promoted scholarships, fellowships, publications, research and educational programs. It has been instrumental in establishing several academic programs focusing on Hungarian studies, such as the Institute of Hungarian Studies at Rutgers - The State University of New (ersey. The Foundation first funded and helped establish the Rutgers Hungarian studies program in 1959. The research Library of the Foundation is an Affiliate Library of the Rutgers University Library. The Foundation through its Library and Archives also provides assistance to those who are researching their family history. The Museum offers gift shop services to visitors as well as opportunities to purchase items by telephone or mail order. Museum items available include a large selection of books, dictionaries, paintings, porcelain, ceramics, CDs and cassette tapes, videos, folk art and embroidery, crafts and woodcarvings. Major donors and new donors to the Foundation are listed on the Wall of Honor in the Lobby of the Heritage Center. Thus, a family is also able to honor parents and grandparents. As part of the Phase 2 Campaign, individuals, corporations, churches, societies and two major American Hungarian fraternal insurance organizations, William Penn Association and Hungarian Reformed Federation of American, have made generous annual contributions and awarded grants to support the Foundation. We invite you to make a generous contribution and/or pledge to the Phase 2 Funding Challenge, which has a $10 million goal. Phase 1 raised $3 million in capital funds to build the Heritage Center. Gifts and pledges have included major bequests and trusts, securities, insurance, real estate and cash donations. Now donors have another opportunity in Phase 2 to provide program and endowment funds as part of the $10 million goal. Founded on December 28, 1954, the Foundation holds as its primary goal nurturing the understanding and appreciation of the Hungarian cultural and historical heritage in the United States of America, serving as bridge between the Hungarian and American cultural traditions, it is committed to enhance a better understanding of the contributions of each. The American Hungarian Foundation, a non-profit tax-exempt, publicly supported organization, is headquartered in the Heritage Center at 300 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, N| 08903. Telephone: 732-846-5777, Fax: 732-249-7033, E-Mail: ahfoundation@juno.com. Inquiries may be addressed to August). Molnár, President of the Foundation. A)M Foundation and Széchényi Library Sign Fulbright Agreement The American Hungarian Foundation signed an agreement for cooperation with the Hungarian-American Fulbright Commission for Educational Exchange and the National Széchényi Library. The agreement will develop a long term program in several stages of (Continued on page 2) NO. 53-54, AUTUMN-WINTER, 1998-99, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER
