New deans welcomed
There was a big turnout at the welcome reception in Stakladen for the four new deans at Aarhus University. The expectations are high of the four who will each be responsible for their own academic area as well as being part of the university management with joint responsibility for developing the university as a whole.
In this welcome speech, Rector Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen said huge challenges await the four new deans. But he also emphasised that he feels absolutely certain these four people can handle it and create an Aarhus University that stands out among both national and international universities.
As Chairman of the Danish Rectors’ Conference in Universities Denmark and Rector of University of Southern Denmark, Jens Oddershede is following the academic development process of Aarhus University with great interest.
- Aarhus University is in the midst of a very exciting experiment. And if they succeed in establishing greater cohesion and more interdisciplinarity, I think that other Danish universities will move in the same direction, he says.
- The shift from one Rector’s office to one university management is a huge opportunity to create a more coherent Aarhus University, and I think that we have a fantastic team for the job, which will be both fun and a lot of hard work, says Vice-Rector Søren E. Frandsen.
- I am confident that they will fully live up to their responsibilities and do the job right, said the former dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Bodil Due, when asked if she had any good advice for the four new deans.
- My policy has always been: be open and listen, but also be ready to make the necessary decisions.
Mette Thunø had the honour of saying thank-you for the warm welcome on behalf of the four deans. She described the academic development process as inspiring, a bit frightening and wonderfully unpredictable, emphasising the importance of this unpredictability for the university by quoting the Chinese philosopher Lao Zi: “If we don’t change direction, we risk ending up where we are heading.”
Søren Mogensen has been Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences for a total of 14 years. He is now returning to a professorship in medical microbiology. When asked if he has any advice for his successor, Allan Flyvbjerg, he says:
- My advice is propriety in everything you do. Never have a hidden agenda and always be open and honest. That’s the surest way to gain people’s trust.
