New associate deans at Aarhus BSS

The Executive Team has just appointed three new associate deans who will each contribute to strengthening the school’s strategic focus areas. They will be responsible for digitisation, EU-funding and the school’s collaboration with external stakeholders including private foundations.

The four associate deans at Aarhus BSS. Photo: AU Photo. Clockwise from left: Ulrik Federspiel, Niels Mejlgaard, René Rohrbeck, Andrea Carugati.

Three new associate deans have just been appointed at Aarhus BSS. They will be responsible for strengthening the school’s strategic focus areas, more specifically digitisation, EU-funding and the school’s collaboration with external stakeholders such as private foundations. Two of the new associate deans have been appointed among the school’s academic staff, while the third is a member of the school’s Advisory Board.

Dean Thomas Pallesen is happy to be able to present a new team of associate deans, which also comprises Professor René Rohrbeck from the Department of Management. Since 2017, René Rohrbeck has held the position as Associate Dean for Corporate Relations and has been responsible for strengthening the school’s external relations.

“With a strong team of associate deans, we can strengthen the school’s efforts and results in a number of our strategic focus areas,” says Thomas Pallesen. “They can all draw on an extensive knowledge and experience within their field, and this will benefit the school as well as the Executive Team. I very much look forward to our future collaboration.”

Who are the new associate deans?

Associate deans do not have staff responsibility, but offer advice and inspiration for the Executive Team in matters relating to a specific area. Professor Andrea Carugati from the Department of Management has thus been appointed Associate Dean for Digitisation. He will be responsible for making Aarhus BSS a frontrunner in the field of digital competences and computational thinking thereby enabling the school to deliver the graduates that are in demand. Andrea will be reporting to the vice-dean for education.

Associate Professor Niels Mejlgaard from the Department of Political Science is the new Associate Dean for EU funding. He will be responsible for creating greater awareness and better use of the possibilities offered under the European framework programmes thereby increasing the success rate of the school’s EU applications. Niels will be reporting to the vice-dean for research and talent development.

Both Andrea and Niels’ have been appointed from 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2021. They will be spending 1/3 of their time on the duty of associate dean and the remaining 2/3 at their home department.

Finally, Ulrik Federspiel, who is a member of the school’s Advisory Board, has been appointed new Associate Dean for the Executive Team. He will be responsible for advising the Executive Team on how to increase Aarhus BSS’ collaboration with external stakeholders, including private foundations, government agencies and institutions, special interest organisations, etc. Ulrik’s appointment runs from 1 June 2018 to 31 May 2019, and he will be reporting to the dean.

Facts about associate deans

  • They are typically appointed among the school’s academic staff
  • They are responsible for increasing the school’s efforts in a particular focus are and must act as counsellor and source of inspiration for the Executive Team.
  • They do not have staff responsibility, but a professional responsibility within a delimited area
  • They are typically appointed for a three-year period and typically spend 1/3 of their time on the duty as associate dean. The remaining working hours are spent at the home department.

Read more about the four associate deans.