TU Dresden: Former rector Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen becomes honorary senator of TU Dresden, sociologist Prof. Karl Lenz receives honorary medal

With great pleasure and recognition, Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen was awarded the honorary senatorship of TU Dresden on June 23 for his extraordinary services to the welfare of the university. During his term of office from 2010 to 2020

the former rector set groundbreaking milestones for the idealistic and material promotion of the university as a whole. Not least with the help of his commitment, the TU Dresden was the only eastern German university to prevail in the national German Excellence Competition in 2012 and to defend this title in 2019. As an idea generator, motivator and networker, Müller-Steinhagen not only co-founded the DRESDEN-concept research alliance, but also advanced the TU Dresden in the areas of strategic capability, profile building, promotion of young researchers, quality assurance and internationalization.

“With a deft hand, he understood how to develop and implement his vision of a university of excellence together with the university community. Under his aegis, the TUD and the state capital Dresden not only grew into an excellent, internationally perceivable, but also a science location characterized by cosmopolitanism,” says the current rector Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger about the merits of her predecessor, who also co-initiated the human chain on February 13 during his tenure. For his outstanding achievements, Hans Müller-Steinhagen was already honored in 2014 by the Center for Higher Education Development (CHE) as University Manager of the Year and in 2021 with the Federal Cross of Merit.

In addition, the TUD awarded the following other awards:
Prof. Karl Lenz received the Medal of Honor as the central initiator and idea provider of today’s quality management (QM) for studying and teaching at TU Dresden. The sociologist headed the Center for Quality Analysis for more than a decade, for which he established instruments, concepts and structures since 1995. At the Competence Center for Educational and University Planning (KfBH), which he co-founded, they are constantly being further developed. “We have Prof. Lenz to thank for the outstanding quality management of our degree programs, which resulted in the successful system accreditation and its extension. His long-standing commitment to our university is exemplary for a pronounced will to shape things that bears fruit far beyond the TU Dresden,” summarizes Rector Staudinger.

The methods developed by Prof. Lenz have had a significant influence on the university’s current course evaluation. His Dresden Graduate Study was extended to all state universities and universities of applied sciences in the Free State of Saxony in 2008. In addition, Karl Lenz played a key role in shaping the overall development of the university for ten years as Vice-Rector for Education and as Vice-Rector for University Planning at TU Dresden.

The pin of honor for individual achievements worthy of mention has been awarded five times.
Jessica Flecks and Barbara Hoffmann have been jointly involved for several years as the unikultur-political team, which enlivens campus life in the areas of university policy, teaching, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and student health. Furthermore, the team advocated for the qualitative design of teacher training through a continuation of the accompanying study of theater. This achievement is exemplary and sets new standards for comprehensive engagement.

Prof. Dr. Chokri Cherif has made an outstanding contribution to textile engineering. With an interdisciplinary network of twelve faculties and over 400 companies, his research initiatives sustainably strengthen TUD’s international visibility. He and his team have received over 108 awards for special scientific achievements and over 250 patents. Third-party funding for his institute has increased more than sevenfold since his appointment. As the inventor of carbon concrete, he was awarded the German President’s Future Prize for Innovation and Technology in 2016.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Günther is being honored for his services to the reconstruction of the Faculty of Economics after reunification. His teaching portfolio includes twelve modules placed at the undergraduate and advanced levels of several degree programs. In the last ten years, he published or co-authored about forty high-quality research articles. With his outstanding achievements in teaching and research and especially his noteworthy personality, he is a true inspiration for his professional environment and the entire TU Dresden.

Jan-Malte Jacobsen receives the pin of honor for his extremely professional efforts in conducting the university elections of the last three years – especially the absentee ballots and the logistics behind them during the pandemic – and thus his extraordinary commitment to the democratic structures of the university. He also excelled with his affable, diplomatic manner as executive director for university policy of the student council, student representative of the faculty council of the study commission and the examination board, and as course coordinator for process engineering.

Dr. Karin Rühling is one of the intellectual originators:inside for the establishment of the Center for Energy Technology – a multidisciplinary laboratory for which she designed the basic concept. She played a major role in the establishment of the Regenerative Energy Systems program and plays an indispensable role in the Teaching Quality Assurance Commission. As a nationally and internationally recognized representative of the TU Dresden, she has attracted an above-average amount of third-party funding and is represented on many technical and standards committees.

Further links
www.tu-dresden.de

Photo: Crispin-Iven Mokry