UniversitySenate of Universität Heidelberg Elects Five Vice-Rectors
Press Release No. 89/2023
11 July 2023
Andreas Dreuw, Silke Hertel, Katja Patzel-Mattern, Karin Schumacher and Marc-Philippe Weller take office as of October 2023
At its meeting today (11 July 2023), the Senate of Heidelberg University elected five vice-rectors. Within the Rectorate, biologist Prof. Dr Karin Schumacher will take responsibility for Quality Development and Sustainability. Legal scholar Prof. Dr Marc-Philippe Weller becomes Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Diversity. The office of Vice-Rector for Research and Digitalisation goes to chemist Prof. Dr Andreas Dreuw. Educationist Prof. Dr Silke Hertel will serve as Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Teaching. Vice-Rector for Innovation and Transfer will be historian Prof. Dr Katja Patzel-Mattern. Their three-year terms of office begin on 1 October 2023 when Prof. Dr Frauke Melchior takes over as Rector of Ruperto Carola.
Prof. Dr Andreas Dreuw
Andreas Dreuw studied chemistry in Düsseldorf and Heidelberg; in 2001 he obtained his doctorate at Heidelberg University. After doing post-doctoral research at the University of California in Berkeley (USA), he served as a junior research group leader and then as Heisenberg Professor at Goethe University Frankfurt where he also earned his habilitation in 2007. In 2011 Andreas Dreuw was appointed Professor of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry at Heidelberg University. He heads an eponymous research group at the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing, of which he has been Managing Director since 2016. In 2020 Prof. Dreuw became a member of Ruperto Carola’s Commission for Research and Strategy and spokesperson of Field of Focus II “Patterns and Structures in Mathematics, Data and the Material World”.
Prof. Dr Silke Hertel
Silke Hertel graduated in psychology at the Technical University of Darmstadt, after which she obtained a scholarship through its graduate support programme. She completed her doctorate in 2007. As academic staff, Silke Hertel transferred to what was then the German Institute for International Educational Research and in 2009 took on a junior professorship for Adaptive Learning Environments at the interdisciplinary IDeA Centre and the Department of Educational Sciences at Goethe University Frankfurt. Since 2013 she has taught and done research as Professor for Staff Skills in the School Context at Heidelberg University’s Institute for Education Studies. Prof. Hertel has been Dean of Studies in the Faculty of Behavioural and Cultural Studies since 2015, and since 2020 spokesperson of Field of Focus IV “Self-regulation and Regulation: Individuals and Societies”.
Prof. Dr Katja Patzel-Mattern
Katja Patzel-Mattern studied modern and recent history, journalism and political science at the University of Münster and at Universidad de Barcelona (Spain). In 1998 she obtained her doctorate in Münster, and then took posts at the State Museum for Technology and Work in Mannheim, the Cusanuswerk in Bonn, and as a lecturer at Heidelberg University. In 2007 she completed her habilitation in the field of history at the University of Konstanz. Since 2009 the scholar has held a Professorship for Economic and Social history at Ruperto Carola’s Department of History. Prof. Patzel-Mattern was Equal Opportunities Commissioner at the university from 2017 to 2019. Since 2019 she has been a member and spokesperson of the Senate, and since 2020 also Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy.
Prof. Dr Karin Schumacher
Karin Schumacher completed her degree in biology at the University of Cologne, where she also obtained her doctorate. From 1996 to 1999 she did research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in San Diego (USA). Then she joined the academic staff at the Center for Plant Molecular Biology at the University of Tübingen and headed an independent junior research group from 2001. In 2006 the biologist earned her habilitation in Tübingen and the following year accepted a professorship at Heidelberg University. Since 2007 Karin Schumacher has been Professor of Plant Developmental Biology at the Centre for Organismal Studies. In 2018/2019 Prof. Schumacher – she is a member of various expert associations – was Dean of the Faculty of Biosciences.
Prof. Dr Marc-Philippe Weller
Marc-Philippe Weller studied law at the universities of Heidelberg and Montpellier (France) and obtained his doctorate at Ruperto Carola, while also employed as an associate advocate. After earning his habilitation at the University of Cologne, where he worked as a research assistant, the legal scholar in 2008 accepted a professorship at the University of Mannheim and in 2011 transferred to the University of Freiburg. Since 2014 his teaching and research has been at Heidelberg University as Professor of Civil Law, Commercial law, International Private Law and Comparative Law. Since then, he has been a director at Ruperto Carola’s Institute for Comparative Law, Conflict of Laws and International Business Law. Prof. Weller has held visiting professorships at universities in Austria, France, Sweden, Taiwan and the United States.
The Rectorate continues to consist of two full-time members – from 1 October the new Rector and Dr Holger Schroeter as Kanzler – and five part-time Vice-Rectors. Prof. Schumacher and Prof. Weller are already Vice-Rectors in the current Rectorate of Prof. Dr Bernhard Eitel, together with sinologist Prof. Dr Anja-Désirée Senz, earth scientist Prof. Dr Jörg Pross and physicist Prof. Dr Matthias Weidemüller.