New management team at HHU: Countess von Schmettow takes over!

New management team at HHU: Countess von Schmettow takes over!

On September 30, 2025, the University Council of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) held its first meeting with a new composition. At this meeting, Carola Gräfin von Schmettow was elected as the new chairwoman. She follows Dr. h. c. Anne-José Springorum, who was chairwoman of the committee for many years. Dr. Karl Hans Arnold was elected deputy chairman, further solidifying the council's leadership structure. These changes were officially confirmed by Daniela Wolfsdorf, representative of the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, by handing over the appointment documents.

The new appointments to the University Council include several new members who bring strategic knowledge and experience to the body. The new members include:

• Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h. c. mult. Wolfgang Holzgreve (externes Mitglied)
• Dr. Wolfgang Rohe (externes Mitglied)
• Prof. Dr. Klaus Pfeffer (internes Mitglied)

Strengthening the university council

The aim of these new appointments is to strengthen the university's supervisory board, which plays an important advisory and monitoring role in the strategic direction of the HHU. In particular, the University Council supports central processes in research, teaching and transfer at the university.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Holzgreve has an international reputation as a gynecologist, was chairman of the board of the University Hospital of Bonn for a long time and is currently chairman of the supervisory board of the University Hospital of Leipzig. Dr. Wolfgang Rohe, who has a doctorate in German, is chairman of the board of the Mercator Foundation and has made a name for himself through previous positions at the German Research Foundation. Prof. Dr. Klaus Pfeffer, who works as a medical microbiologist at the HHU, brings expertise from his many years of membership in the professoriate as well as the 2004 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize from the DFG.

These new members are part of an evolutionary phase within the HHU University Council that sets a strategic focus for the university. The new appointments made in recent years ensure the Council's continued work and promote mutual networking between science, politics and society.

The university council in the German education system

According to information from Wikipedia, the university council at German universities, also known as the university council or board of trustees, is a body that has strategic competencies and provides advisory support to the university. In North Rhine-Westphalia, where the HHU is based, university councils must have a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 12 members, at least half of which are external. This structure aims to integrate specific know-how from business and other academies into university administration and thereby increase the university's efficiency and innovative strength.

The recent new announcements and changes in university councils, such as those at HHU, are part of a broader trend that focuses on the future-oriented development of higher education in Germany. The University Council is not just an administrative tool, but a fundamental part of strategic planning and implementation at universities.