The role of the Central European University (CEU) as a regional educational leader was strengthened in 1997 through collaboration with similar institutions in the region and elsewhere. Based in Budapest with a campus in Warsaw, CEU moved ahead by placing special emphasis on doctoral study as its highest developmental priority.

During the 1997-1998 academic year, CEU enrolled 630 students, an increase of more than 200 from the previous year. The majority of students were enrolled in master's degree programs, but an increasing number are entering interdisciplinary and doctoral programs. Students were drawn from more than 35 countries, including those of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Western Europe, North America, and Asia.

One of the most recent developments in cooperation with other institutions is the Joint Appointment Scheme, whereby outstanding members of academia will be able to teach part of the year at CEU and the remainder of the year at their home universities. Not only will CEU profit from having more qualified supervisors for its master's and doctoral students, but the whole range of academic programs in the Soros foundations network will gain more consistency and substance, and ties with universities internationally will be strengthened. More than 60 professors from 26 countries teach at CEU. Prestigious visiting professors give frequent lectures and seminars at the university, thus giving students access to these highly respected academics from top-level institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom.

In addition to nine original master's degree programs (economics, history, international business law, comparative constitutional law, medieval studies, political science, sociology, environmental sciences and policy, and international relations and European studies), CEU offers interdisciplinary and doctoral programs. The history, legal studies, medieval studies, and sociology departments offer accredited doctoral programs. In December 1997, a doctoral program in political science was granted accreditation by the
Board of Regents of New York. In 1997-1998, interdisciplinary programs in nationalism studies and human rights were launched, adding to master's programs in southeast European studies and gender and culture, and a certificate program in social theory. These interdisciplinary programs also provide areas of specialization for CEU doctoral students.

While CEU's primary function is to teach and conduct research, its secondary goal is to provide a service to the region. A number of regional faculty initiatives known as External Programs share this common aim. They facilitate cooperation between CEU and universities throughout the region, with approximately 1,400 professors a year participating in activities for faculty and curriculum development. All External Programs are financially supported by the International Higher Education Support Program (HESP) and other network programs, utilizing the pro bono work of CEU professors and staff. On a regular basis, CEU professors meet visiting scholars, host fellows, conduct research workshops, ensure quality control, and engage in a wider debate on these initiatives through the External Programs Committee.

The External CEU-HESP Office (ECHO) is the umbrella for a number of special or pilot programs, in addition to the following established programs: the Curriculum Resource Center, the Popper Project Workshop Series, the Gender and Culture Regional Workshop Series, the Master's Degree Development Program, the Central European University's Lecturers' Mobility Grants, the Institute for Southeast European Studies, as well as Regional Junior, Senior, and Educational Administration Fellowships.

Another ECHO activity is the second Summer University (SUN), which in 1997 hosted 500 participants from 29 countries in 19 courses. Courses on library systems, gender studies, environmental impact assessment, and the economics of labor markets received more than 100 applications. In addition to its academic programs, SUN offered numerous public lectures and instruction in the use of the Internet and automated library systems.

In September 1997, Sorin Antohi was appointed the new Academic Pro-Rector at CEU, where he has previously served as an instructor. Antohi has a Ph.D. in history from the A.D. Xenopol Institute of History, Iasi, Romania, and a D.E.A. in history earned at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris. Prior to his appointment, Antohi taught at the University of Bucharest, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Universitat Bielefeld, and Universite Paul Valery-Montpellier III. He is the author of three books in his native language and has translated and co-edited numerous volumes. As a prominent public intellectual since 1990, he has been a widely recognized participant in national debates on Romanian educational issues.