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Politics
Control from the ministry — The University of Copenhagen is to find two new board members, but the question is whether they can make it before the Minister for Higher Education and Science has a new law adopted giving him more power over the process.
Are you an employee or student at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH), and do you want to help find two new
Minister for Higher Education and Science Søren Pind (V) has sent a bill through the hearing process in parliament that means that he and the Ministry will have more power over the appointment, while students and employees lose influence.
But UCPH is still inviting these employees and students to submit proposals for suitable candidates.
The minister wants, on this basis, to invite the University of Copenhagen in for a meeting to discuss a suitable process for organizing the transition period before the new procedures come into effect,”
Susse Maria Holst, Head of communications at the Ministry for Higher Education and Research
The new law is expected to come into force 1st July, yet the replacements for Board chairman Nils Strandberg Pedersen and external member Jannik Johansen are to take over their seats 16th September.
This is how you nominate a candidate
Any suggestions for candidates must be sent in one email. The mail must contain:
If multiple candidates, a list
An attachment for each candidate (which includes in this order):
• candidate’s full name, title and place of employment
• a brief justification for your nominatioln
• CV if possible
The appointment should be made to the appointment committee no later than Tuesday. 18th April, 2017 by e-mail to Secretary of the Board Sophie Hemmingsen: ash@adm.ku.dk
Source: KUnet
UCPH will continue the appointment process under the current rules anyway, according to KUnet. It also states that the two new board members will be found before the end of June, immediately before the law comes into effect.
According to the UCPH statutes, as they are today, it is a nominating committee, where staff and students have three members each, that is to select four to six candidates for the two board memberships. The committee will seek proposals from the Senate, the academic councils, the cooperation committees, department councils and student political organizations, but staff and students can also submit names of their personal favorites. This is where the process is now.
The Board, where staff and students have five out of 11 seats will make the final choice.
With the new law, the Ministry will be involved in all bodies that appoint new board members. Representatives from the Ministry will now attend the nominating committee, the Minister is to designate a chairman of the appointing body, and the Minister is to approve the candidate for chairman of the Board.
Here is where the external members end their terms
Nils Strandberg Pedersen: Transition board: 1.1.2007-31.12.2007. Chairman, 1st period: 09.15.2009 – 09.14.2013. 2nd period: 15.09.2013 – 14.09.2017.
Jannik Johansen: 1st period 15.9.2009 – 14.9.2013. 2nd period 09.15.2013 – 09.14.2017.
Kari Melby: 1st period: 01.01.2012 – 31.12.2015. 2nd period: 01.01.2016 – 31.12.2019.
Sine Sunesen: 1st period: 01.01.2012 – 31.12.2015. 2nd period: 01.01.2016 – 31.12.2019.
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen: 1st period: 01.01.2012 – 31.12.2015. 2nd period: 01.01.2016 – 31.12.2019.
Jakob Thomasen: 1st period: 01.01.2016 – 31.12.2019. Can seek re-election for a new period 1.1.2020 – 12.31.2023.
The bill has been widely criticized, including from the Danish Association of Master’s and PhDs (DM) chairwoman Camilla Gregersen, who writes in a press release:
“The most problematic thing is that the chairman of the new nominating committee must be designated by the Ministry. The Ministry writes in its memo on the bill that it should be at arm’s length in relation to the political system, but there is no arm’s length in what the Ministry proposes. The arm’s length principle will be replaced by ministerial handcuffs, and this is a problem for university autonomy.”
She adds: “It is also troubling that students and staff are sent outside, both for the nomination and election process for a new board. It is crucial that the board includes people who know about the core activities of the universities.”
Also Hanne Foss Hansen, a professor at UCPH and a staff-elected member of the board is critical:
“The Ministry wants to influence who will be appointed, and the bill will ultimately let the minister veto any unwanted chairman candidates. But with this ‘politicized nomination’ we risk appointing chairmen who have less understanding of the university’s DNA, its core tasks, the nature of research and uni-culture. The model might work if there was a relationship of trust between the Ministry and the universities, but this trust does not exist in Denmark,” she says to the Forskerforum news site.
Susse Maria Holst, Head of communications at the Ministry for Higher Education and Research writes by e-mail that the government sent in a draft bill 24th February for a better management framework for universities for parliamentary hearing, and that it, among other things, proposed new procedures for the appointment of external members to the Board.
The new rules are expected to come into force on 1 July 2017.
“The minister wants, on this basis, to invite the University of Copenhagen in for a meeting to discuss a suitable process for organizing the transition period before the new procedures come into effect,” she writes.
UCPH management has declined to comment on the case.