Members of the Executive Board: Prof. Georg Bertram, Prof. Sven Chojnacki, Prof. Günter M. Ziegler, Prof. Petra Knaus, Prof. Verena Blechinger-Talcott (fLTR)
Image Credit: Bernd Wannenmacher
University Management
The Executive Board (Präsidium) is in charge of managing Freie Universität Berlin. It is composed of the President of the university, the Executive Vice President, who also serves as the Permanent Deputy of the President, three other Vice Presidents (VP2, VP3 and VP4), each of whom is responsible for specific areas, and the Provost.
Among its other responsibilities, the Executive Board approves the draft budget, publishes guidelines for budgetary and economic administration, and makes suggestions as to the establishment, modification, and elimination of organizational units, as well as proposing structural and development plans for Freie Universität Berlin and implementing the resolutions of the Academic Senate (Akademischer Senat) as to the establishment and elimination of courses of study.
Responsibility and Teamwork
The Executive Board works according to the principle of collective responsibility. The President is responsible for setting guidelines within the Executive Board. Within those guidelines, each Vice President and the Director of Administration and Finance (Kanzlerin) is responsible for managing his or her division independently and on his or her own responsibility.
The Director of Administration and Finance supports the President in performing his duties. She manages ongoing administrative business and is bound by the guidelines set by the President in so doing. She is also the official in charge of the budget.
Executive Board Elections
The President and the Executive Vice President are elected by a majority vote of the extended Academic Senate. The candidates are nominated by the Academic Senate and elected by the Academic Senate independently of the Board of Trustees (Kuratorium).
The President and the Academic Senate are entitled to propose additional Vice Presidents. The President and Vice Presidents generally serve for a term of four years. The Director of Administration and Finance is elected by the Board of Trustees upon nomination by the President and is appointed by the Senate of Berlin for a term of ten years.