Handover of the President’s Office

Prof. Dr. Thomas Fetzer succeeded Prof. Dr. Thomas Puhl as President of the University of Mannheim on 1 October 2024. His term of office is six years. Fetzer had previously been Vice-President for Strategic Planning, Internationalization and Equal Opportunity for three years. At his side in the President’s Office are Executive Vice President Dr. Katrin Schoppa-Bauer and the four Vice-Presidents Prof. Dr. Moritz Fleischmann, Prof. Dr. Jutta Mata, Prof. Dr. Heiko Paulheim, and Prof. Dr. Cornelia Ruhe.

In September, Petra Olschowski, member of the Landtag and Minister of Science, Research and the Arts of the Land Baden-Württemberg, bid farewell to Professor Dr. Thomas Puhl with a ceremonial speech: “Professor Puhl's term of office has been characterized by his eye for the essential features of his university, the needs of the students, and excellent research. He led his university through difficult times with a calm and successful leadership style,” said Olschowski.

He particularly stood out because of his excellent communication skills. “As a fair mediator and active listener, he understood how to create synergies between different stakeholders and always represented the interests of his university and those of the other universities in Baden-Württemberg in a competent and constructive way,” said Olschowski. Professor Fetzer had challenging tasks ahead of him in the face of current societal challenges and numerous developments in teaching, research and international cooperations, but he would also have the opportunity to make his own mark.

A Large Network of Support

In his farewell speech, Professor Puhl thanked his colleagues from the university, the ministry and society. He was lucky to spend close to 40 fulfilling years at the University of Mannheim. The position of President was his dream job, he said. “They were the most colorful, exciting and beautiful years of my professional life. I received so much support from the university and the ministry,” Puhl summarized. He said he was delighted that his colleague Professor Fetzer decided to take on the position. The university was “in the very best hands” with him.

Professor Fetzer thanked his predecessor, saying that he was fortunate to be taking over a university that was in an excellent position. During his term of office, he wanted to make sure that the university continued to be at the top in Germany and Europe with its research and education profile. Continuous success in research required continuous new efforts. Over the next five years, the university would further strengthen its clear-cut profile and its focus on empirical research.

He also intended to promote interdisciplinary research even more intensively, for example with the establishment of a Mannheim Center for Advanced Studies (CAS). Further priorities in the coming years would be promoting diversity, sustainability, digitalization and academic career paths. The university had a good strategy and a large network of support—in the Ministry of Science as well as in the city and the region—and “incredibly motivated researchers, teachers, students and employees,” said Fetzer.

Text: Linda Schädler / April 2025