A first at the University of Bremen: A woman at the helm
On 2 March, the Academic Senate elected Professor Jutta Günther as the new Rector, who will take office on 1 September 2022. The Bremen professor of economics will replace Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, who is retiring after ten years in office. The 22 members of the Academic Senate (AS) elected Professor Günther with 14 votes. Also standing for election was Professor Verena Blechinger-Talcott from the Free University (FU) Berlin, who received 8 votes.
Jutta Günther is no stranger to the University of Bremen: The 54-year-old has been the Vice-Rector for Research, Young Academics and Transfer for just under two years. And as Professor of Economics, at Uni Bremen since 2014, she has focused her work on structural change and innovation. She heads an international team of around 25 in the Faculty of Economics. In addition, as a member of the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), she is active in supervising doctoral students at the interface of social science and humanities disciplines.
Prof Günther is well connected in science and politics and is a member of various scientific advisory boards and committees at federal and state level, including as an advisor and expert at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), as a member of the scientific advisory board of the Leibniz Science Campus Halle, as chair of the scientific advisory board of Stifterverband’s Wissenschaftsstatistik GmbH and as a member of the German-Korean Consultation Panel at the Federal Government Commissioner for New Federal States (BMWi). From 2020 to 2021, Prof Günther was a member and scientific expert of the Enquete Commission on Climate Protection Strategies for the State of Bremen.
Having grown up in North Rhine-Westphalia, Prof Günther entered academia via a non-traditional path. After several years of professional work, including in international development cooperation and most recently as a technical assistant at the Free University (FU) Berlin, she completed social science studies in Oldenburg, Osnabrück and Albany, New York. After completing her doctorate at the University of Osnabrück, she worked for twelve years at the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH), first as a postdoc and then as head of department and institute. During this time, she gained extensive experience in strategic science management and science policy work. At the same time, she qualified as a university lecturer at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and was then appointed to the University of Bremen in 2014.
"I want to do all I can to ensure that we face the challenges of our time together and courageously in our research, teaching and transfer work," said Prof Günther after the election. For her, the University of Bremen is a special and inspiring place of science and education. As the future rector, she intends to stand for dialogue, participation, transparency and trusting cooperation with all university staff, students, partners and politicians.