The foundation of the Országh Award was officially announced in 1997, at the opening ceremony of the ESSE conference, Debrecen. The Award is granted to international or Hungarian scholars and/or teachers who are renowned in a field which was also among Professor Országh’s special interests. From 2006, the award is granted every other year for two awardees, and is officially handed over during the biennial HUSSE conference.
The award consists of a diploma, signed by the president of HUSSE and the dean of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen, and of a bronze plaque: the image of Professor László Országh can be seen on one side, whereas the image of the University of Debrecen on the other.
The Award was established by the Hungarian Society for the Study of English (HUSSE) and the Faculty of Humanities of Kossuth Lajos University (later University of Debrecen). The board of trustees consists of seven members:
- the president of HUSSE (or his/her representative)
- the dean of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen
- a representative of the American Studies Department of Eszterházy Károly College
- a representative of the Institute of English and American Studies, University of Debrecen
- a renowned scholar in the field of British Studies
- a renowned scholar in the field of American Studies
- a renowned scholar in the field of linguistics and/or a college instructor or secondary school teacher who has achieved a high professional level in language textbook writing
The board of trustees is re-elected every two years, and is presided over by a president. The current president is Professor Zsolt Virágos (University of Debrecen). The awardees are elected by a secret ballot.
Awardees:
2010:
Enikő Bollobás (professor, Department of American Studies, ELTE)
Tamás Magyarics (associate professor, Department of American Studies, ELTE)
2008:
Tamás Bényei (reader, Department of British Studies, University of Debrecen,)
Mária Kurdi (professor, Department of English Literatures and Cultures, University of Pécs)
2006:
Donald E. Morse (professor, Oakland University, Michigan, U.S.A.)
Miklós Kontra (professor, Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences)
2004:
Péter Dávidházi (professor, Institute for Literary Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences)
István Géher (professor, Department of English Studies, ELTE)
2003:
Lehel Vadon (professor, Department of American Studies, Eszterházy College, Eger)
Zoltán Kövecses (professor, Department of English Linguistics, ELTE)
2002:
Ágnes Péter (professor, Department of English Studies, ELTE)
Béla Korponay (professor, Department of English Linguistics, University of Debrecen)
2001:
Zoltán Abádi Nagy (professor, Department of American Studies, University of Debrecen)
István Kenesei (professor, Department of Englsih Studies, University of Szeged)
2000:
Tibor Frank (professor, Department of American Studies, ELTE)
László Buday (professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Veszprém)
1999:
Zsolt Virágos (professor, Department of American Studies, University of Debrecen)
Mrs. Miklós Kretzoi (retired reader, Department of English Studies, ELTE)
1998:
István Pálffy (professor emeritus, Department for English Literature and Linguistics, University of Miskolc)
Aladár Sarbu (professor, Department of English Studies, ELTE)
1997:
Péter Egri (professor, Department of English Studies, ELTE)
Tamás Magay (retired professor, Department of English, Károli Gáspár University)
