On June 1, 2022, Prof. Dr. Stefan Kronenberger, Professor of Economics at the Department of Management, Controlling, HealthCare at HWG Ludwigshafen, former Dean of the Department and Vice President of the University, retired. The invitation of Prof. Dr. Häusler, Dean of the Department of Management, Controlling, HealthCare, was accepted by colleagues and
colleagues from all departments and employees of the department as well as students and graduates. His wife and sons also came to the place where Prof. Dr. Kronenberger worked. The appreciation by the dean and the president as well as the lively participation made it clear that a highly respected and popular university lecturer was going into a well-deserved retirement.
With a twinkle in his eye, he, as an economist, looked at the different subject-specific character of economists and business economists, respectively, and at the challenges of working with the latter.
In his farewell lecture on the topic of "Homo economicus in the diaspora", he brought together the essence of his experiences and insights in a manner that was as stimulating as it was humorous.
Prof. Dr. Kronenberger was appointed to the university in 1993 and was Dean of the Department of Management, Controlling, HealthCare as well as Vice President for Studies and Education at the university for several terms. During his time as dean, he paid particular attention to strengthening the profile in the area of international affairs and the quality of education. He also opened up the subject area of health economics for the department. The evaluation of his own courses by the students shows that he has made an impact as a teacher with his whole personality. Quoting from the students' feedback, Prof. Dr. Häusler enumerated a whole list of impressive characteristics: complex topics are explained in the best possible way with a high level of competence and good examples; very well structured; very many references to current daily topics, the relevance of the topics becomes clear through the linking; empathetic, motivating and approaching the students. Hardly surprisingly, the willingness to continue to be involved in education after the end of active service in the context of a senior professorship was welcomed by students as well as the department as a whole.
As far as Prof. Dr. Kronenberger's work for the university is concerned, the changeover from diploma to bachelor's and master's degrees as part of the Bologna process remains associated with his name. President Piller recalled that he campaigned vigorously and successfully at the state level to establish master's degree programs at the state's universities of applied sciences as well.
It should be added that the department has translated the great importance attached to this building block of academic education into attractive courses of study with the masters in Controlling, Innovation Management and Care Management in the Health Sector - HCM. This is a good prerequisite for attracting young university teachers who, in addition to their commitment to application-oriented, high-quality education, also have a strong interest in research. With the successful appointment of Prof. Dr. Niklas Wölfing to the professorship of economics in succession to Prof. Dr. Kronenberger, we have succeeded in doing just that.
Thanks are due to Prof. Dr. Kronenberger for his enriching curiosity, the professionally challenging and at the same time motivating cooperation and the great commitment with which he has brought his ideas to the work at the university.
