Dean of Humanities quits job

The Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Kirsten Refsing, has announced that she will resign her post and will go back to doing research. This is according to a release on KUnet late Friday.

»I have had five interesting years at the Faculty of Humanities, in which the faculty has carried out a hard, but necessary, process in connection with the demands for effectivisation of the research and education area. I want to go back to my research in Japanese studies. It is time to let new people do the pulling and the motivating,« Kirsten Refsing stated in a release.

As Dean, Kirsten Refsing has been criticised by academics for her role in Humanities’ cutbacks. And she was recently forced to retract an unpopular plan to burn history books to make way for a knowledge centre.

Rector: Respect for decision

In the meantime, Ulf Hedetoft, Head of the Saxo-Institute, will be the acting Dean until the position is filled.

Rector Ralf Hemmingsen praises the work of Kirsten Refsing:

»I’ve been extremely happy with my co-operation with Kirsten for five years…I will miss Kirsten’s vision, dedication and fearlessness. However, I have respect for her decision, after years of hard work in management, to choose to pursue her professional interest, and I wish her good luck in this work,« he says.

Hemmingsen points out that the change of Dean will not change the challenges the Faculty faces. The present work, assessing the structure of the faculty, will continue unchanged.

afton.halloran@adm.ku.dk

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