SELECTION OF NEW VICE-CHANCELLOR. The consultative assembly decided yesterday afternoon, Tuesday December 20, to recommend Ole Petter Ottesen as new Vice-Chancellor at the University of Gothenburg. The votes were 38–23 in Ottesens favour. The recommendation is now passed on to the University Board, who decides on January 10 which candidate to propose to the Swedish Government, which then makes the formal decision.
The consultative assembly met on Thursday December 15 to interview the two candidates for the position as Vice-Chancellor: Ole Petter Ottesen, Rector at the University of Oslo and Eva Wiberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Lund University. The third candidate Peter Aronsson, Pro-Rector at Linnaeus University, had a few days earlier withdrawn his application.
During the interviews held in the morning both candidates answered a large number of questions. The consultative assembly then convened and voted, where 61 of totally 70 members attended. The remaining 9 members were not present at the meeting. The vote resulted in a 38-23 favour to Ole Peter Ottesen.
– They represented two different kinds of leadership. Ole Peter Ottesens long experience of being Vice-Chancellor at a large university and stronger clarity in leadership was probably what made this result, says Mats Björkin, chair of the consultative assembly.
The new Vice-Chancellor takes office July 1 2017.
Facts about the two candidates:
Ole Peter Ottersen is Rector at the University of Oslo since 2009. He is a Professor in Medicine, and defended his thesis in Oslo 1982. Ole Peter Ottersen have run many national and international research projects. He has also have many international commissions of trust, for example been special advisor in several university evaluations. Ole Peter Ottersen have two honorary doctorates.
Eva Wiberg is Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Lund University with responsibility for educational issues, quality work and internationalisation. She is a professor in Italian and her doctoral thesis, disseminated in 1997, concerned bilingualism in Swedish-Italian children. Eva Wiberg has a large international experience and has among other things been Director-General at the global joint committee Universitas 21.
Read more about the process to appoint a new vice-chancellor: The University is looking for a new vice-chancellor
