József Bódis

As secretary of state for higher education, innovation and vocational training, József Bódis directed Hungary's post-2019 university "model change," under which control of state-run institutions was transferred to asset-management foundations. Bódis himself was given the chairmanship of the foundation (UQA) that took over the University of Pécs, while simultaneously overseeing the entire process as secretary of state. Átlátszó documented that the model change replaced institutional oversight with personal control, and that performance indicators written into the foundations' contracts remained unknown to the university community for extended periods. A 2023 legal amendment allowed Bódis to remain an employee of the University of Pécs past retirement age even while chairing the board that was formally his employer's governing body. He resigned the board chairmanship in October 2024, citing the university's insufficient "marketization" as his reason — in contrast to László Palkovics's resignation a week earlier from the Széchenyi István University (Győr) board, which was driven by anticipated stricter conflict-of-interest rules.