Reiner Finkeldey elected President of the University of Kassel

In the fourth round of voting, Prof. Dr. Finkeldey received 25 votes in favor to six against, with two invalid votes, well above the required absolute majority of 18 votes. In the previous third ballot, he had received 17 votes, while his opponent Prof. Dr. Winfried Speitkamp received 15 votes (out of 32 votes cast). Since no candidate had received an absolute majority in the first three rounds of voting, a fourth round of voting was necessary, in which only Finkeldey stood. Speitkamp, dean of the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Kassel, was the only opposing candidate proposed to the Extended Senate by the University Council.

In an initial statement, Finkeldey said, "I am very pleased with the confidence that the Extended Senate has placed in me as an external candidate. I can now use the coming months to become even more familiar with the University of Kassel, its structures and its environment. I am particularly looking forward to visits to all departments and the University of the Arts, and to discussions with the acting Presidential Board. Together with my future colleagues on the presidium, I will clarify the responsibilities for important tasks and we will communicate this openly to the university. In this way, we will be able to start quickly in October to accompany the processes that have already begun to improve the quality of teaching. Good working opportunities for all employees and the promotion of young scientists will be important topics for me from the very beginning. And, of course, I also want to quickly advance discussions on how the University of Kassel can further sharpen its profile by focusing on research."

The new president will take office on October 1, 2015. The term of office is six years. Finkeldey replaces Prof. Dr. Rolf-Dieter Postlep, who is stepping down for reasons of age and has held the office since September 2000. He congratulated his designated successor and wished him luck and staying power for the tasks ahead: "Significant challenges lie ahead of you and I am sure that you will successfully shape the development of the University of Kassel."

Finkeldey is 52 years old and has extensive experience in university leadership roles: He has been vice president of the University of Göttingen since April 2013, and was previously dean of the Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology there as well as a member of the Senate. He studied forestry in Göttingen and received his doctorate there with a thesis on the conservation of forest genetic resources. After many years of work and research in Asia and Europe, he has held a professorship in forest genetics and forest plant breeding at the University of Göttingen since 2001. His research interests include the adaptation of forest trees to environmental change, relationships of genetic variation with species diversity and ecosystem management, and genetic variation in plants of the tropics. Finkeldey is married.

The Extended Senate comprises 34 members, including 18 professors. The University of Kassel currently has about 23,700 students.

A downloadable photo can be found here:
http://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/fileadmin/datas/uni/presse/anhaenge/2015/Finkeldey_rechts.jpg
Caption: Acting President Prof. Dr. Rolf-Dieter Postlep (left) congratulates his elected successor Prof. Dr. Reiner Finkeldey (right). Photo: Zgoll/University of Kassel.

Contact:

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communications, Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de