The Board of Trustees: Advice and Legal Control

The Board of Trustees is the body responsible for advising the university management and deciding on important matters. Leuphana University Lüneburg was among the first universities in Germany to become a foundation under public law. The State of Lower Saxony has thereby granted the university a high degree of autonomy and responsibility. The Board of Trustees is the foundation's highest body.

Members of the Board of Trustees

  • Dr. Georg Schütte – Chair, Secretary General Volkswagen Foundation
  • Dr. Adelheid Ehmke – Deputy Chair, former President of the European Platform of Women Scientist & former Vice-Rector of the University of Luxembourg
  • Prof. Dr. Kaysser-Pyzalla, Chair of the DLR Executive Board (German Aerospace Center, DLR)
  • Prof. Dr. Gabriele Oettingen, Professor of Psychology at the University of Hamburg & at New York University
  • Prof. Dr. Emer O’Sullivan, Professor of English Literary Studies, member of Leuphana University Lüneburg
  • Krista Sager, Former Second Mayor & Senator of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
  • Prof. Dr. Joachim Schachtner, permanent Secretary of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture, representative of the ministry

The members of the Presidential Committee, a representative of the student body, the Equal Opportunities Officer and a member of the Staff Council generally attend the meetings of the Board of Trustees in an advisory capacity.

Advisory Board of the Board of Trustees

In August 2014, the Board of Trustees decided to establish an Advisory Board.

The Advisory Board consists of one representative each of the students, the scientific staff, the technical and administrative staff, the staff council and the professors. The representatives are appointed by the Senate. In addition, the Equal Opportunities Officer is a member of the Advisory Board. The meetings are open to the university public.

Tasks and functioning of the Board of Trustees

The tasks and responsibilities of the Board of Trustees are governed by the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act (NHG), the statutes of the University of Lüneburg Foundation and the procedural rules of the Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees is a supervisory body within the meaning of the Higher Education Act. It advises the university, decides on foundation matters of fundamental importance, supervises the activities of the Presidential Committee, prepares and implements measures of legal supervision. On the other hand, the Board of Trustees is a body for advising the university leadership, in particular on strategic issues.

The concrete tasks of the Board of Trustees include, among other things:

  1. to participate in finding and appointing members of the Presidential Committee,
  2. the adoption of resolutions on the University's business plan and development planning,
  3. to receive the financial and other reports of the Presidium,
  4. the adoption of the annual financial statements and discharge of the Presidential Committee,
  5. the adoption of resolutions on appointment proposals for professorships.

As a rule, the Board of Trustees meets three times a year. At its meetings and by circular procedure, it passes resolutions in accordance with its statutory duties. In addition, it regularly exchanges information with university officials. As a rule, the Board of Trustees does not meet in public. It may admit the public to meetings or involve individual members and relatives in its meetings.

Due to their proximity to science and their personal professional backgrounds, the honorary members of the Board of Trustees, who work without remuneration, are proven in a variety of scientifically relevant subject areas and provide advice from their specialist areas. The members of the Board of Trustees are invited to all important central events of the University. This offers them the opportunity to exchange ideas with university members beyond their other activities and to gain an impression of university life.

Meeting dates of the Board of Trustees

May 9, 2023
July 21, 2023
December 20, 2023

Contact

Board's Office
Dr. Matthias Becker
Fon +49.4131.677-1802
stiftungsrat@leuphana.de