Welcome to the University Council of the University of Bonn
The University Council is a university body defined by the North Rhine-Westphalian Higer Education Act. According to the Constitution of the University of Bonn, it is consisting of a total of 10 members who are appointed for a term of five years: seven external members from science, culture or business and three internal members of the University of Bonn.
Tasks of the University Council
The University Council advises the Rectorate and supervises its economic management. According to § 21 of the Higher Education Act, its advisory tasks include, in particular, making recommendations on the development of the university and on matters of research and teaching that are of fundamental importance. In addition, it is responsible for essential tasks concerning the finances of the university. The University Council decides on the economic plan and on the approval of the annual financial statements as well as on the discharge of the Rectorate. In order to perform these tasks, it has extensive powers. Thus, it has the right to inspect and examine all documents of the university. The Chairman of the University Council is also the superior of the Rector and the Provost.
The members of the University Council belong to the University’s Electoral Assembly, which elects the members of the Rectorate in accordance with § 22a of the Higher Education Act.
Members of the University Council
The external members of the University Council do not belong to the University and must meet the requirements laid down in § 21 paragraph 3: "have [been] active in positions of responsibility [...] in particular in science, culture or business and, on the basis of their [...] knowledge and experience, be able to make a contribution to achieving the goals and tasks of the University." The internal members are members and affiliates of the university.
External members
Prof. Dr. Dieter Engels (Chair)
Honorary Professor Dr. Dieter Engels has been Chairman of the University Council since 2013. He was President of the Federal Audit Office from 2002 to 2014 and holds an honorary professorship at the German University of Administrative Sciences in Speyer.
Dr. Katrin Vernau (Vice Chair)
Dr. Katrin Vernau has been Vice Chair of the University Council since 2013. She was Chancellor of the University of Ulm (2002 to 2005) and the University of Hamburg (2006 to 2012). She has been Administrative Director of the West German Broadcasting Corporation Cologne (WDR) since March 2015.
Prof. Dorothee Dzwonnek
Honorary Professor Dorothee Dzwonnek has been a member of the University Council since 2013. She was Secretary General of the German Research Foundation (DFG) from 2007 to 2018 and holds an honorary professorship at the German University of Administrative Sciences in Speyer since 2017.
Dr. Claudia Lücking-Michel
Dr. Claudia Lücking-Michel has been a member of the University Council since 2018. She was a member of the German Bundestag from 2013 to 2017 and has been the managing director of AGIAMONDO, the personnel service of German Catholics for international cooperation, since 2018.
Ilona Schmiel
Ilona Schmiel has been a member of the University Council since 2013. She was artistic director and managing director of the Beethovenfest Bonn from 2004 to 2014 and has been artistic director of the Tonhalle Society Zurich since 2014. She teaches as a guest lecturer at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin since 1996.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Helmut Schwarz
Professor Dr. Helmut Schwarz has been a member of the University Council since 2013. He was President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation from 2008 to 2017 and a member of the Presidium of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - National Academy of Sciences from 2010 to 2015. Prof. Dr. Schwarz holds a professorship at the TU Berlin since 1978.
Prof. Dr. Emil Jürgen Zöllner
Professor Dr. Emil Jürgen Zöllner has been a member of the University Council since 2014. From 1991 to 2006 he was Minister of Education and Science in Rhineland-Palatinate, and from May to November 2006 he was also Deputy Minister President. From 2006 to 2011, he was Senator for Education, Science and Research of the State of Berlin. Since 2012, Prof. Dr. Zöllner serves as a board member of the Charité Foundation.
Internal members
Prof. Dr. Britta Klagge
Professor Dr. Britta Klagge has been a member of the University Council since 2023. She has been Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography at the University of Bonn since 2012.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Müller
Professor Dr. Stefan Müller has been a member of the University Council since 2019. He is the founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, established in Leipzig in 1996. Since 2008, Prof. Müller holds a chair at the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics at the University of Bonn and is speaker of the Collaborative Research Center "The Mathematics of Emergent Effects".
Office of the University Council
Franziska Freya Rakebrandt
Dechenstraße 3-11
53115 Bonn
Anja Bode
Dechenstraße 3-11
53115 Bonn
Meetings of the University Council: Dates and Minutes
Meeting dates 2023
The University Council meets at least four times a year.Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Friday, May 5, 2023
Monday, June 12, 2023
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Minutes
Minutes of the University Council meetings can be found on the University Intranet.
Downloads and information
Rules of Procedure of the University Council
Constitution of the University of Bonn
Higher Education Act of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Expense allowance for members of the University Council
Pursuant to § 21 paragraph 6 sentence 7 of the Higher Education Act of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (HG), the total amount of the expense allowances for the members of the University Council is announced. It amounts to 28,000 euros for the year 2022. In addition, the members of the University Council were reimbursed for travel expenses upon request in accordance with the provisions of the State Travel Expenses Act.