The Arts Newsletter - 27 May
In this week's newsletter, Dean Mette Thunø writes about the new department heads at the faculty.
Dear Arts staff and students
The new heads of department have been selected after a thorough process involving an advisory committee, tests and two rounds of interviews. Bjaarke Paarup has been appointed head of the Department of Culture and Society, Niels Lehmann will head the Department of Aesthetics and Communication, and Hanne Løngreen will head the Department of Education. There was a very strong field of applicants for these positions, which means that we have been able to ensure that our new departments will be headed by leaders with broad experience and visionary ideas. The new head of department will also be valuable contributors to the faculty's senior management.
With the appointment of the future departments heads at Arts, we are finally in a position to take the next steps in the organisation of the faculty. The reports on the implementation of the 9 March plan which I have just received from the implementation working groups are another important stepping stone towards the organisation of the faculty. The implementation groups have approached this complex task with great dedication, and I'm looking forward to immersing myself in all the details of their work. We have established a process for open consultation and decision-making which will ensure that students and all staff have an opportunity to discuss the recommendations submitted by the implementation groups.
A call for applications to the position of director of the Centre for Teaching Development and Digital Media will be published next week. The centre director will also soon joining the faculty's senior management group, which I'm looking forward to. I can certainly understand that the Emdrup campus staff who will be transferred to the Aarhus campus must feel the same way. All the new department heads and centre directors will play an important role in ensuring the coherence of the new departments and centres - academically, administratively and socially.
Almost all of the division manager positions at the Administrative Centre/Arts have now been filled. The preference clarification round for staff members who are especially affected by the reorganisation is also nearing completion: presumably, all administrative staff members' new duties and responsibilities will be clarified before the summer holiday.
The future will bring many exciting academic developments at Arts. I'm certain that we'll receive a lot of qualified applications for the PhD stipends in educational research which will be announced soon. The stipends are part of the globalisation agreement with the central government and are intended to strengthen research in primary school education.
I hope to see many of you at the party on 17 June, before the summer holiday. Staff members, please remember to sign up for the 'Arts pre-party' by Tuesday. AU and the Student Council have arranged a special student pre-party with a food tent and music in the University Park on the main Aarhus campus. Enjoy!
Dean Mette Thunø
Arts
More news from Arts
> Aarhus University appoints seventeen new heads of departments
> Open consultation and decision-making process on departmental structure at Arts
The implementation committees have completed their work, and have submitted their final recommendations to the faculty senior management group. There will be an open consultation and decision-making process to give Arts staff and students an opportunity to discuss the recommendations of selected committees. The process will take place shortly before and after the summer holiday.
Read the full story in Danish
> Reports from the implementation committees
The implementation committees which have been discussing how best to implement a range of the initiatives and decisions in the 9 March report on Tomorrow's AU since late March have just delivered their final reports. The reports will serve an advisory function for the senior management.
> PhD stipends in educational research
A number of new PhD stipends in educational theory and research will be announced at the end of June.
Read the full story in Danish