Historian Prof. Ivan Ilchev was re-elected Thursday for another 4-year term as the rector of Sofia University, Bulgaria's oldest and most respected higher education institution.

Ilchev was elected with a voting run-off against geographer Prof. Petar Slaveykov, with 233-125 votes respectively at a sitting of the university's general assembly.

The other two candidates for the vote, education scientist Prof. Bozhidar Angelov and literary scholar Prof. Valeri Stefanov, got less votes at the first round.

"We must restore the sense of community within Sofia University. This sense was much stronger years ago, but has started to disintegrate, as the University has been attacked from all sides," said Ilchev after his re-election.

The history professor also stressed that education should be among the government's top priorities especially during times of crisis.

Ilchev said that a potential raise in student fees is not a move he sees as very desirable, given the state of household finances, but also stressed that Bulgarian families need to be ready in investing in education.

The newly-elected president vowed to keep on working in the optimization of the administration and finances of the Sofia University, as well as in forging closer ties to businesses and foreign institutions.

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