13 people want to be the rector at AU: Now the elimination process begins

The applications are now in for the position of rector at Aarhus University.

13 people applied for the position before the deadline, which was 13 January, says chair of the University Board Connie Hedegaard, who is also head of the appointment committee.

“The pool of applicants is impressive, interesting and very diverse – there are different profiles”, she says.

“Now we will sit down and look at whether and how all the applicants live up to the criteria. We will then decide whom we should invite to the first round of interviews”, says Connie Hedegaard.

The process will begin in week 6, when the appointment committee will discuss the applications for the first time. The first round of interviews will take place at the beginning of March, and, a week later, selected applicants will be invited to a second round.

At a board meeting on 7 April, Connie Hedegaard expects to be able to present the committee’s proposal for the new rector.

“On 7 April, we expect to be able to say what the process has been like and what we think. Hopefully we will have a nomination ready for this meeting”, she says.

If the board endorses the nomination without further questions, an agreement will subsequently be negotiated with the applicant. The decision will therefore not be final on 7 April. 

The position was advertised last December, and Brian Bech Nielsen’s fixed-term appointment as rector ends in August this year. Nielsen has had the position since 2013.

However, it is not certain that there will be a change at the top. The current rector was also able to apply for the position, and there are therefore no guarantees that a new person will be appointed to the post in August. It has not been possible to find out whether he has applied for the position again.

In the job advertisement from December, it stated that the rector must be a “respected researcher who also has a proven track record of leadership and experience with the organisation of research programmes”.

The position is a fixed-term appointment and will either end or be extended in 2028. A fixed-term appointment can run for between three and six years and can be extended for a maximum of three years without being advertised.

This time, the position has attracted slightly more applicants than before. When Brian Bech Nielsen was appointed in 2013, 11 people applied for the position.

Before his time as rector, Brian Bech Nielsen was dean at the Faculty of Science and Technology, which is today divided into the Faculty of Technical Sciences (Tech) and the Faculty of Natural Sciences (Nat).

Throughout the history of Arhus University, there have been 25 rectors. But the rector has never been a woman.