Following the re-election of Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch for a second term of four years in October 2020, the Assembly has now confirmed the vice rectors Professor Hoch had originally proposed. This completes his team for the second term starting in April. Two additional areas of responsibility have been created and the Vice Rectorates have been redefined. For the first time, the Rectorate of the University of Bonn maintains gender parity: Bonn is the second University of Excellence in Germany to have equal participation of women and men in its principal governing body.
The newly elected vice rectors are:
- Vice Rector for Digitalization and Information Management: Prof. Dr. Maren Bennewitz, Professor for Humanoid Robots, Institute for Computer Science
- Vice Rector for Equal Opportunities and Diversity: Prof. Dr. Irmgard Förster, Professor for Immunology and Environment, Life & Medical Sciences (LIMES) Institute
- Vice Rector for International Affairs: Prof. Dr. Birgit Münch, Professor for Art History, Institute of Art History
- Vice Rector for Studies, Teaching and University Development: Prof. Dr. Klaus Sandmann, Professor for Financial Market Economics, Institute of Financial Market Economics and Statistics
- Vice Rector for Sustainability: Prof. Dr. Annette Scheersoi, Professor for Didactics of Biology, Nees Institute for Plant Biodiversity
- Vice Rector for Research and Early Career Researchers: Prof. Dr. Andreas Zimmer, Professor of Molecular Psychiatry, Institute for Molecular Psychiatry
The vice rectors fill their role in part-time and form the Rectorate together with Rector Michael Hoch and Provost Holger Gottschalk. Rector Michael Hoch, Vice Rector Maren Bennewitz and Vice Rectors Klaus Sandmann and Andreas Zimmer will begin their second terms in May.
The chairperson of the Electoral Assembly, Prof. Dr. Rainer Hüttemann, congratulated the elected vice rectors and wished the entire Rectorate much success for the challenges ahead. At the same time, he thanked the outgoing Rectorate: "Professor Hoch's Rectorate has put the University of Bonn on track for excellence, making it the most successful university in the competition. Now the task is to secure this success for the future. With his new team and the expertise it provides, Professor Hoch is provided with perfect conditions."
The chairperson of the University Council, Prof. Dr. Dieter Engels, said: "Michael Hoch’s Rectorate is taking office with determination, drive and ambitious goals. Increasing the share of women at all levels of hierarchy is one of them. With our University management soon being one of the few in Germany with gender parity we are sending out a strong signal."
Rector Michael Hoch was pleased that the Assembly followed his proposals with a vast majority: "With their decision, the members of the Senate and the University Council are giving me and my team the support we need for the tasks ahead. Together with the students, researchers, professors and technical and administrative staff, we want to secure the University of Bonn’s status as a location for excellent research and teaching into the future and drive further developments, not least with regard to ongoing internationalization. This particularly applies to the topics of equal opportunity and diversity, sustainability and digitalization."
