On January 9, 2026, our colleague and former Vice Dean Professor Dr. Monika Greening passed away in Seeheim-Jugenheim at the age of 60. Monika Greening had held a professorship in Midwifery Science at the Department of Social and Health Care since 2020.
Monika Greening's family originally came from Lower Bavaria and Wiesbaden. She lived in Seeheim-Jugenheim for many years with her husband and family. Through her marriage, she discovered a deep love for Italy. Family life was the center of her life, and her particularly good relationship with children was demonstrated by the fact that she had eight godchildren and was a loving grandmother and aunt to her grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Her dog Milou was also a loyal and important companion to her over the years, especially during her serious illness last year.
Her professional and academic career began at the midwifery school at Giessen University Hospital. She completed her midwifery training there in 1993, worked as a freelance, employed and head midwife in Darmstadt and Mainz and studied nursing science at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt between 2001 and 2005. After graduating, she lectured at various universities and midwifery schools. This was followed by a doctorate in vocational education at the Technical University of Darmstadt. She completed her dissertation entitled "Identification of stress factors and strain on midwifery students during vocational training" in 2011.
She was very interested in analysing the circumstances of training and identifying potential for improvement in order to avoid unnecessary stress or trauma during training. This thematic focus also corresponds to Monika Greening's nature. The human aspect and careful interaction in human interaction were of great concern to her, and so despite her professionalism in her day-to-day work, she was always a person who sought personal encounters and put the team and the matter in the foreground. The result was always more important to her than her own person or her individual success.
After completing her dissertation in 2011, she received her first appointment at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg. She then moved to the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Mainz. There she was appointed to one of the first professorships for midwifery science in Germany and was also active as Vice Dean and Dean.
In 2020, Monika Greening moved to the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society and, as Professor of Midwifery Science and Deputy Head of Degree Programs at our university during the pandemic, developed the primary qualifying degree program in Midwifery Science together with her colleagues in the study area. She was responsible for designing the skills and simulation center and dedicated herself to this complex topic with great commitment. It was important to her that midwifery students had very good conditions for their studies and were well prepared for their practical assignments.
Accordingly, she was also committed to further developing the young discipline of midwifery throughout Germany. From 2012 to 2018, she was involved in the German Society for Midwifery Science, first as an advisory board member and then as President of the scientific society. She was involved in the creation of the S3 guideline "Caesarean section"; not an easy task, as there were always lines of conflict with other professional groups in the guideline group.
Monika Greening's life was eventful and full of movement! She loved running and moved other people with her mischievous smile, her authenticity and her charismatic presence. She mastered communication without words to the end through her body language. The physical, one of the regulations in obstetrics, had always accompanied her personal and scientific interests. The embodiment approach was a thesis that she explored in depth: thinking, feeling and acting are inseparably linked to the body. The body influences thinking - knowledge is thus embodied and the body is the carrier of experience, knowledge and relationship.
Monika Greening has never shied away from taking on responsibility, either as a midwife, as a delivery room manager, as a professor or as a private individual. She took on tasks in the self-administration and also wanted to take on responsibility for the Department in the future. She had therefore agreed to take up the post of Dean in 2025. Unfortunately, she fell ill in February 2025 and was no longer able to realize her plans and goals. She was no longer able to complete her research project in the "Empower" research network, pursue her research semester, be elected as Dean, bid farewell to the first midwifery graduates, complete her doctoral supervision, celebrate the opening of the Skills and Simulation Center and celebrate her 60th birthday with her colleagues.
Her death fills us with great sadness. We will miss her greatly at the HWG LU, in the Department and especially in the Midwifery Science program - as a colleague, as a companion and as a person. We mourn with her husband and her family.
