As part of the university's New Year's reception on January 14, 2019, the two long-time vice presidents, Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Dallmann and Prof. Dr. Andreas Gissel, were bidden farewell. Since February 1, 2019, Prof. Dr. Edith Rüger-Muck has now succeeded Prof. Dr. Gissel as Vice President for International Affairs and Diversity, and since March 1 of this year, Prof. Dr. Ellen Bareis has taken over from Prof. Dr. Ulrich Dallmann as Vice President for Studies and Teaching, Quality Management and Arts and Culture.
Vice President for Studies and Teaching, Quality Management and Art and Culture:
Prof. Dr. Ellen Bareis
Prof. Dr. Ellen Bareis, born in 1967, has been Vice President for Studies & Teaching, Quality Management and the newly created department of Art & Culture since March 1, 2019. The sociologist with a doctorate and professor of social exclusion and participation in the Department of Social and Health Services is thus moving from the dean's office of the department, which she led for four years, to the central management level. An important topic of her new area of responsibility will be to continue to fill the new university name with content in dialogue with the committees and teaching staff: "We want to continuously develop the strategic orientation of the university, which is reflected in the renaming at the beginning of the year, and work more intensively on the formats that interlink the individual departments in an interdisciplinary manner. An initial example of success in this regard is the good performance of our "Social Innovation Hub" project in a competition organized by the Stifterverband and the Daniel Schwarz Foundation," explains Bareis. This involves the interdisciplinary and cooperative handling of socially and economically challenging issues in research and teaching, particularly in a regional context.
At the same time, in the area of study & teaching, the expansion of special teaching-learning forms such as "research-based learning" is a matter of concern to her. In the area of study programs, Bareis is focusing on the further development of health study programs: "We want to make our offerings in nursing and midwifery, for example, even more visible, and a master's program in this area is also currently in the works," says Bareis.
Vice President for International Affairs and Diversity:
Prof. Dr. Edith Rüger-Muck
Prof. Dr. Edith Rüger-Muck; born in 1973, has been in office as Vice President for International Affairs and Diversity since February 1, 2019 and is responsible for the areas of international affairs, foreign contacts and - as a new part - diversity. With a doctorate in business administration, she has experience in both committee work and international exchange as the head of the master's program in International Marketing Management and a long-standing member of the Senate and the Faculty Council. "I have already worked closely with Ms. Gallenstein and her team from the International Affairs department in the past and look forward to further collaboration," says Edith Rüger-Muck.
One focus of Rüger-Muck's work will be to increase student and faculty mobility and to further expand international partnerships: "I am primarily concerned with the qualitative expansion of existing partnerships, but also with attracting new partner universities, including those in English-speaking countries," specifies Edith Rüger-Muck. The new vice president would also like to increase the number of double degree programs. Already in spring 2018, she was able to initiate a double degree program in cooperation with the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) near Brisbane (Australia) for students in her master's program, which, in addition to their degree at HWG LU, also gives students a degree from USC for the Master of International Business program.
When asked about the new area of "Diversity", Edith-Rüger-Muck relies on close cooperation with the university's Equal Opportunity Officer, Prof. Dr. Elke Raum: "Prof. Dr. Raum and her team from the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Coordination Office already cover a wide field with their focus on equality, family friendliness or accessibility. I therefore see my part in particular in the area of interculturality," says Rüger-Muck.
