University President of the Year:
Prof. Dr. Dabbert among the top five most popular university presidents in Germany  [06.04.22]

In 2022, the President of the University of Hohenheim came in fourth place nationwide in the University President Ranking by the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers.

Scientists have chosen: This year, Prof. Dr. Stephan Dabbert from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart is once again one of the most popular university presidents in Germany. The results of this year's ranking were announced on 28 March 2022 by the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers. With a school grade of 1.86, Prof. Dr. Dabbert was ranked 4th - and thus consistently in one of the top five places since 2015. In 2016, he even received first place. First place went to Prof. Dr. Thomas Puhl from the University of Mannheim (grade 1.51), followed by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch from the University of Bonn (grade 1.63) and Prof. Dr. Manfred Beyer from the TU Dortmund University in third place (grade 1.81). 5th place went to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Rüdiger from RWTH Aachen University. In the vote for the “Science Minister of the Year,” State Minister of Science, Research and Arts Theresia Bauer came in first place. The detailed ranking can be found at bit.ly/3ivocsK


Around 78 percent of the participants attest to him being the "ideal person for the position" or a "very good person for the position.” The President of the University of Hohenheim, Prof. Dr. Stephan Dabbert, is ranked fourth in this year's DHV University President Ranking. The ranking is based on a scale ranging from "ideal person for the position" to "worst possible person for the position." From the evaluations its members, the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV) determines a ranking using the German school grading system.

First place went to Prof. Dr. Thomas Puhl from the University of Mannheim, followed by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch from the University of Bonn, and Prof. Dr. Manfred Beyer from the TU Dortmund University came in third place.

"Science Minister of the Year 2022" is Theresia Bauer, Minister of Baden-Württemberg, with a rating of 2.86. Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann, Minister of Science, Energy, Climate Protection and the Environment of the State of Saxony-Anhalt (2.88), and Wolfgang Tiefensee, Minister of Economics, Science and Digital Society of the State of Thuringia (2.99), followed in second and third place.


Coming together to overcome crises

"I heartily congratulate my colleagues Puhl, Hoch and Beyer on their success in the DHV ranking. And I am very pleased that our scientists have given me so much recognition and support again this year," stated Prof. Dr. Dabbert. He said that was not a given in the third year of the pandemic, with personal encounters still reduced. "To overcome the crisis, we need not only perseverance, but above all, we need this kind of cohesion at the university."

"After the pandemic, the university will be a different university than before," Prof. Dr. Dabbert continued. "Our scientists are working on this, and we will use what we learn during this time to address other global challenges as well. In particular, the push in digitalization will benefit us all."


BACKGROUND: The award “President of the Year”

With the award “President of the Year” (“Rektor des Jahres”), the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV) honors the model management of the chosen candidate. The DHV is a professional association of scientists and researchers in Germany. The direction and execution of the ranking, which includes 54 universities this year, lies with the Center for Evaluation and Methods (Zentrum für Evaluation und Methoden) at the University of Bonn.

The right to vote is conferred to association members who are personally invited to evaluate the person currently in office at their university. 5,929 researchers and scientists took part in this year’s voting. Only rectors or presidents who had been in office for at least 100 days and received at least 30 ratings were ranked.

The honor “President of the Year” was awarded on 28 March 2022 at the DHV’s German Science Gala in Berlin. Detailed results will be published in the April edition of the journal “Forschung & Lehre”. It is also available at https://bit.ly/3ivocsK.

More information can be found at
https://www.hochschulverband.de/en/


Overview of all winners of the award “President of the Year”:

2022 Prof. Dr. Thomas Puhl, University of Mannheim
2021 Prof. Dr. Michael Hoch, University of Bonn
2020 Prof. Dr. Michael Hoch, University of Bonn
2019 Prof. Dr. Lambert Koch, University of Wuppertal
2018 Prof. Dr. Johannes Wessels, University of Münster
2017 Prof. Dr. Lambert Koch, University of Wuppertal
2016 Prof. Dr. Stephan Dabbert, University of Hohenheim
2015 Prof. Dr. Helmut J. Schmidt, TU Kaiserslautern
2014 Prof. Dr. Lambert Koch, University of Wuppertal
2013 Prof. Dr. Jan-Hendrik Olbertz, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
2012 Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Herrmann, TU München
2011 Prof. Dr. Lambert Koch, University of Wuppertal
2010 Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schareck, University of Rostock
2009 Prof. Dr. Elmar Weiler, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Text: Elsner


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