University Council Confirms Chairwoman and Vice-Presidents
12/07/2023Margret Wintermantel will remain Chairwoman of the University Council of the University of Würzburg. And the current Vice-Presidents have also been re-elected for a second term of office.
At its meeting on 4 December 2023, the University Council of Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) confirmed its current Chairwoman, Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel, in office. Wintermantel took office in June 2021 after her predecessor, Prof. Dr. Helmut Schwarz, had left the University Council on 1 April 2021. Wintermantel's second term will start on 1 April 2024.
The University Council has also re-elected the current Vice-Presidents of the JMU, Matthias Bode, Andreas Dörpinghaus, Doris Fischer, Caroline Kisker and Anja Schlömerkemper, for a second term of office. The five have been members of the University Board since 1 April 2021. The election had become necessary, as the Vice-Presidents’ term of office is limited to three years.
‘I am delighted that I will be able to continue working with a proven team in the coming years,’ said University President Paul Pauli, welcoming the election result. With their dedicated work, both Wintermantel and the Vice-Presidents had contributed a lot in recent years to the JMU's excellent national and international reputation. Looking ahead to the challenges of the coming years, Pauli expressed his confidence that the University Council and the University Board in their confirmed composition would succeed in setting the course for the future of the University.
Brief biography of Margret Wintermantel
Margret Wintermantel studied psychology and journalism at the University of Mainz. She completed her doctorate in 1972, also in Mainz, and earned a Habilitation in psychology at the University of Heidelberg in 1986. In 1992, she was appointed to a professorship at Saarland University. There, she also served as Vice-President from 1994 to 1997 and as President from 2000 to 2006.
In 2001, Wintermantel took on the role of Vice-President of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK), in which she was responsible for the portfolio of ‘Research and Early Career Researchers’. From 2006 to 2012, she was President of the HRK. In 2012, Wintermantel moved on to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), where she served as President until the end of 2019.
Margret Wintermantel has received several awards for her commitment, including the Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany (2009). She has also been a Knight of the French Legion of Honour since 2005.
Margret Wintermantel is the first woman to chair the JMU University Council. Her predecessors were: Dr. Michael Klett, Prof. Dr. Otmar Issing, Prof. Dr. Ekhard Salje and Prof. Dr. Helmut Schwarz.
The University Council
The responsibilities and composition of the University Council are governed by Article 36 of the Bavarian higher education innovation act, which states that the University Council consists of the ten elected members of the Senate on the one hand and ‘ten personalities from academia and culture and, in particular, from the business community and professional practice (non-university members)’ on the other.
The University Council has a range of responsibilities. Among other things, its members elect the President and the other members of the University Board, with the exception of the Chancellor, and are entitled to vote them out of office. Its responsibilities also include voting on the university constitution and its amendment as well as on the creation, alteration and discontinuation of degree programmes.
