Open Society Foundations to Explore New Model for Higher Education While also Pledging to Continue Support for CEU

Alex Soros, chair of the Open Society Foundations, has outlined a new vision for the Foundations' higher education work, and reaffirmed Open Society's financial commitment to the Central European University (CEU) through 2032 and beyond.

At the CEU board meeting this weekend, Soros told fellow trustees that the new model for higher education will be centered around the creation of an Open Society University (OSU), a successor organization to the Open Society University Network. OSU will advance the Foundations' decades-long commitment to supporting excellence and expanding global access to higher education.

Starting with foundational partners CEU and Bard College, OSU will grow into a federated structure of linked institutions that support scholarly exchange, student mobility, and collaborative programming-strengthening democratic and pluralist education and research at this critical moment in world history. By building bridges between its partners, OSU will enhance each university's mission and create pathways for students and researchers working to address pressing global challenges.

OSU underscores the Open Society Foundations' commitment to providing access to university education in regions where democratic and pluralist education is under threat. OSU's partners will mobilize together to support students and scholars who have been displaced or whose learning has been disrupted by conflict or calamity.

The CEU trustees heard an update on a new task force, comprised of representatives of the partners and the Foundations. The group, which began meeting in September, is drafting a mission statement and charter for this new university model and will deliver its initial report in 2025.

CEU rector Professor Shalini Randeria announced that she will return to her research and teaching, and step down at the end of this year. The Open Society Foundations recognize Professor Randeria's exceptional leadership during a time of transition and wish her continued success in her future work.