A rare accolade in the context of transatlantic academic cooperation: In May 2013, the private university of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania (USA), conferred the honorary title “Doctor of Liberal Education” on Professor Wilfried Müller. The award is in recognition of the many years of successful collaboration with the University of Bremen’s former Rector. In the opinion of the awarding panel “Wilfried Müller is an outstanding personality and an internationally renowned scholar, who earned the highest tributes for his own university and established a remarkable cooperation with Dickinson College.” He was instrumental in introducing a number of broad reforms and managed to position his university in the forefront of the worldwide competition for professors, third-party funding, and university cooperation.
About Dickinson College:
Dickinson College numbers among America’s very best Liberal Arts Colleges. It is the oldest college in the USA and has 2,400 students. It was the first to be licensed by the new United States following the American Revolution in 1783. Its founder, Dr. Benjamin Rush, was one of the founding fathers of the United States of America and a signatory of the American Declaration of Independence. Academic studies there are characterized by a global orientation together with a focus on sustainability and a close linkage between teaching and research. Among the many successful personalities who graduated from Dickenson is James Buchanan, a former President of the United States. Just last year, following successful collaboration stretching back over a quarter of a century, the University of Bremen renewed its cooperation agreement with Dickinson College.
About the person:
Before handing over to Prof. Bernd Scholz-Reiter, Wilfried Müller was Rector of the University of Bremen for ten years. During this period, the 67-year-old scholar led the University from success to success, culminating in it being officially recognized by the Excellence Initiative as one of Germany’s top eleven academic institutions. Müller studied chemistry, philosophy, educational science, and sociology in Kiel und Hamburg. He took up a professorial appointment in Bremen in1976.
