University of Mannheim Bids Farewell to Executive Vice President Barbara Windscheid

Since 1 January 2017, Windscheid has been in charge of the university’s personnel and budget administration. The Executive Vice President is the second full-time member of the President's Office and also heads the central administration.

At the farewell ceremony, Professor Thomas Puhl, President of the University of Mannheim, thanked the Executive Vice President for her outstanding work and commitment to the university: “Barbara Windscheid has been a great asset to our university, especially thanks to her excellent knowledge of financial, organizational, and structural issues. She has not only been proficient in administrative and commercial matters, but also a highly appreciated leadership personality. I would like to express my special gratitude to her for her relentless efforts, both at the university and on federal and state level, especially during the challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic and, most recently, the crisis in Ukraine.”

In addition, Dr. Hans J. Reiter, Ministerial Director and Head of the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts of Baden-Württemberg, Jan Gerken, spokesman of the Executive Vice Presidents of the Land of Baden-Württemberg, and Dieter Kaufmann, federal spokesman of the Vereinigung der Kanzlerinnen und Kanzler der Universitäten Deutschlands (Association of Chancellors of German Universities), paid tribute to Windscheid's achievements. Particular mention was made of her structured way of working, which enabled her to explain even the most complex processes and implement them in a goal-oriented manner.

In her farewell speech, the retiring Executive Vice President expressed her attachment to the university: “I look back on my term as Executive Vice President of the University of Mannheim with great pleasure. In particular, I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to help shape numerous projects at the university and beyond. I would like to express my sincere thanks for the trust placed in me and the support I received from my esteemed colleagues at the university and from the Land of Baden-Württemberg. They all provided me with outstanding support in all areas and especially in dealing with the additional challenges posed by the pandemic during the last two years. I hope that my successor will have an equally wonderful time and that she will be very successful in her new role.”

On 1 January 2023, Dr. Katrin Schoppa-Bauer, who previously headed the President's Office, will take over from Windscheid as new Executive Vice President of the University of Mannheim.