News from the Senior Management Group no. 15/2011

Three new vice-deans appointed

Aarhus University has now appointed an additional three of the fourteen vice-deans who will work to develop the university's academic profile in the years to come. The three new vice-deans have been appointed to Arts and Health.

 

Arts:

  • Vice-Dean for Education: Dr Marianne Ping Huang comes to AU from a position as head of the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies at the University of Copenhagen. She will start on 15 June.
  • Vice-Dean for Research and Talent Development: Dr Anne Marie Pahuus, head of the Department of Philosophy and History of Ideas at AU since 2009. She will start on 1 June.

 

Health:

  • Vice-Dean for Knowledge Exchange: Dr John Michael Hasenkam, professor at the Department of Clinical Medicine. He will start on 1 June.

The three new vice-deans will join the nine vice-deans who started on 1 Marts. The vice-deans' role will be to help manage their respective main academic areas, in addition to participating in the four new AU forums for research, talent development, knowledge exchange and education.

The appointment process for the position of vice-dean for research at Science and Technology is still ongoing, and the position of vice-dean for research at Health will be advertised again in order to attract a broader field of applicants.

Read more about the new vice-deans (in Danish):

  • Profiles of the vice-deans (in Danish)


AU among world's elite in new QS ranking for the life sciences and medicine

QS World University Rankings has just published new rankings in the life sciences (including psychology and the biological sciences) and medicine. Aarhus University has been awarded a high ranking in all three fields, and is among the top 50 for psychology.

AU is ranked number 47 in the field of psychology, which makes it the highest-ranking university in the field in continental Europe. QS’ psychology ranking includes both traditional social sciences branches of the field as well as natural science disciplines such as brain research and neuroscience, including research on conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Aarhus University is ranked in the top 51-100 universities in medicine and in the top 101-150 for biological sciences.

The rankings are based on surveys of researchers and employers all over the world which measure university reputation, as well as the average number of citations per research article in the field.

Like the Times Higher Education World University Ranking and the Shanghai ranking (ARWU), QS is expected to publish its 2011 overall ranking of world universities in September.


Widespread public interest in MatchPoints 2011

Aarhus University's successful MatchPoints seminars give the general public access to leading researchers and an opportunity to engage them in dialogue. A diverse group of participants has registered for the MatchPoints seminar to take place at Aarhus University from12 to14 May.

One of the seminar's most eminent speakers is the American political commentator Fareed Zakaria. His article 'Why they hate us', written after the terrorist attacks of 11 September, brought him worldwide recognition. On Saturday 7 May, the newspaper Politiken featured an exclusive interview with Zakaria in preparation for his visit to AU this week.


Debate meeting on the global role of universities

Aarhus University and Universities Denmark invite you to join an open debate meeting on the role of universities in a global perspective.

Prominent Danish and international experts will present their perspectives on the universities of the future. Dr Jamil Salmi of the World Bank and the Danish philosopher Dr Vincent Hendricks will be among the distinguished speakers at the debate, along with a number of ther prominent figures from the private sector and academia.

Staff, students and external partners are all welcome to participate. Participation is free of charge, but registration is required.

The debate will take place between 2pm and 5pm at the Lakeside Lecture Theatres (Søauditorierne).

  • Read more about the debate and register here (in Danish)


Calendar

  • 12-14 May: MatchPoints 2011
  • 25 May: Universities Denmark debate meeting: ARE WE WINNING THE RACE? AN OPEN DEBATE ON THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
  • 27 May: Rigmor and Carl Holst-Knudsen Award 2011 ceremony
  • 17 June: AU celebrates


The Senior Management Group publishes a newsletter every week. This newsletter includes a brief description of current activities and discussions. You can sign up for the Danish version of the newsletter at http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve, after which you will receive an e-mail whenever the newsletter is issued.

If you would like to subscribe to the English version of News from the Senior Management Group, please go to http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve/index.asp?sprog=en. The English version of News from the Senior Management Group is available at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/seniormanagement/newsletter/. You can read previous editions of News from the Senior Management Group at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/seniormanagement/newsletter/2011.