The University of Kassel mourns the loss of Dr. Vera Rüdiger

The University of Kassel mourns the loss of its founding president Dr. Vera Rüdiger, who passed away on November 12, it has now been announced. Vera Rüdiger was 89 years old. She shaped the early years of today's university.

"Vera Rüdiger steered and shaped our university during its formative years. In doing so, she has earned lasting merits not only for today's university, but for the entire region," said Prof. Dr. Ute Clement, the current President of the University of Kassel. "She was the first woman to hold various professional positions and was a role model for many women in science and politics. We have great respect for her life's work and sympathy for the bereaved."

Vera Rüdiger was born on April 5, 1936 in Vollmarshausen, a small community in the district of Kassel. After working as a teacher in Giessen, she studied political science, sociology and German language and literature at the University of Marburg, where she completed her doctorate in 1965 with a thesis on municipal electoral associations. In 1970, she was elected to the Hessian state parliament for the SPD, but resigned her seat in 1972 to become the founding president of the then Gesamthochschule Kassel.

Vera Rüdiger's term of office was characterized by reform approaches, practice-oriented studies and the integration of different fields of study and Faculties. She shaped the then Gesamthochschule Kassel (GhK) model, which was regarded as a pioneering model project in the German higher education landscape. The particular focus was on reform pedagogy, practical relevance and innovations in the university system as well as equal opportunities and gender equality in academic education.

She remained in office here for two years - when the government was formed following the Hessian state elections, she became State Secretary in the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs at the beginning of December 1974. In 1978, Minister President Holger Börner then appointed her Minister for Federal Affairs, making her the first female member of a Hessian cabinet. She later headed the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art. From 1988, she was responsible for the health department and federal affairs in the Bremen University Senate for four years.