Coming up: Decision on merger

It is one of only a few times in recent history that a decision of the Board of the University of Copenhagen still hangs in the balance before the actual meeting takes place.

Today, Thursday at 10.15, the Board, the highest authority of the University of Copenhagen, will meet to decide whether the university management plan to merge four faculties into two will be carried out.

The plan, which has met resistance from staff and students, merges Life Science and Science faculties into one, the Health and Pharmaceutical Sciences faculties into another.

Not happy

Judging by statements made beforehand, the decision, which will affect the daily lives of thousands of students, has split the Board in two.

Student representatives have expressed their scepticism on this site and on our sister section Universitetsavisen.

»Louise and I have so far been extremely critical about all this and have not been happy with the way it has been put forward,« said Laura Toftegaard Pedersen in a debate recently according to Universitetsavisen.

Down to dynamic of meeting itself

Staff representatives have also been against.

»In these faculties they are about to carry out a merger, that is one of the most top-down processes that we have ever seen in the University of Copenhagen’s 532-year history,« wrote Professor Niels Kærgård when he lately campaigned for his seat in the Board.

But there are other, externally selected Board members to take into account, and there is university management itself. It is hard to judge the outcome beforehand, and any decision will come out of the dynamic of the meeting itself.

miy@adm.ku.dk

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