Biologist Katrin Böhning-Gaese is new member of Kassel University Council

Katrin Böhning-Gaese has been a professor at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and director of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center since 2010. From 2017 to 2021, she was Vice President of the Leibniz Association. Her research focuses on the relationship between humans and ecosystems. In this context, she studies macroecology, community ecology, and social-ecological systems, as well as the impact of global change on biodiversity and ecosystem functions. The relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being are also among her research interests. In 1999, she completed her habilitation at the University of Tübingen on a Heisenberg Fellowship from the German Research Foundation with the research topic "Micro- and macroecological approaches to understanding species communities."

"I am pleased to welcome Ms. Böhning-Gaese as a new member of the University Council, as she is considered a proven expert in the field of sustainable development in ecological, social and economic terms. This fits well with our profile and the Kassel Institute for Sustainability," said University President Prof. Dr. Ute Clement.

Böhning-Gaese has been awarded the German Environmental Prize (2021) by the German Federal Foundation for the Environment, among others, for her cutting-edge research and her commitment to political and social consulting. Since 2015, she has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz. In 2023, she was appointed to the German Federal Government's Council for Sustainable Development.

Background

In accordance with the Hessian Higher Education Act, the University Council accompanies the university in its development, articulates the expectations that exist in the professional world, and promotes the use of scientific knowledge and artistic achievements. Among other things, it has a right of initiative on fundamental matters of the university and must approve development planning. The University Council consists of up to ten members. The chairperson is Prof. Dr. Claudia Eckert. The members are appointed by the HMWK and half are nominated by the university and half by the ministry.