University Universität Heidelberg: Election of a New Rector

2 March 2023

Presentation of candidates and election with announcement of the election result are open to the university public

The decision on a new rector as the head of Heidelberg University will be taken at a joint meeting of the Senate and the University Council of Ruperto Carola. The election will take place on 9 March 2023; for that purpose, the members of the two electoral bodies will assemble in the Great Hall of the Old University. The quarter-hour presentation of each of the candidates for the office of rector and the election with the announcement of the election result will be open to the university public, that is, to members of the university.

The candidates’ presentations will most probably start as of 11.30 am, with interruptions for consultations by the electoral bodies in closed session. The election will then take place during the afternoon. Due to the limited seating capacity of the Great Hall, the respective parts of the joint meeting of the Senate and the University Council that are open to the university public will also be live streamed to the Senate Hall in the Old University and the lecture theatre of the Marsilius Kolleg on the Im Neuenheimer Feld campus. Viewing the transmission is also restricted to the university public.

The election became necessary after the present incumbent Prof. Dr Bernhard Eitel announced in May last year that he would end his third period of office as Rector of Heidelberg University prematurely, on 30 September 2023. His successor will therefore assume the office as head of Ruperto Carola from 1 October. The appointment will be made by the state premier of Baden-Württemberg.