Senate and University Council Elect Four New Rectorate Members
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On Friday, 3 July, the University Elective Assembly of TU Dortmund University elected four new rectorate members: Professor Wiebke Möhring, Professor Nele McElvany, Profesor Tessa Flatten and Professor Gerhard Schembecker. They will take up office on 1 September together with Professor Manfred Bayer, the new President. Chancellor Albrecht Ehlers, whose second term of office will last until 2022, is also a member of the Rectorate.
The members of the Senate and the University Council of TU Dortmund University came together under strict hygiene rules in the Main Lecture Theater for the meeting of the University Elective Assembly. Wearing a mask when entering the University’s premises and keeping an appropriate distance apart when seated has meanwhile become routine. The public watched via livestream. This was also how the committee had already elected physicist Professor Manfred Bayer as President on 24 April. It was now convening at his suggestion to elect a team of vice presidents.
Bayer’s proposal for the four departments – Academic Affairs, Research, International Relations and Finance – met with very wide approval among the University Elective Assembly: Elected were Professor Wiebke Möhring from the Institute of Journalism, Professor Nele McElvany from the Center for Research on Education and School Development (IFS), Professor Tessa Flatten from the Faculty of Business and Economics and Professor Gerhard Schembecker from the Faculty of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering. Together with physicist Professor Manfred Bayer as President and lawyer Albrecht Ehlers as Chancellor, from 1 September they will form the Rectorate of TU Dortmund University. As usual, the areas of responsibility will be set down in the business allocation plan at the constituting meeting. When asked, Bayer stressed that diversity management was important to him and that this area would be staffed with competent colleagues in the Rectorate.
Looking forward to working together in future
“I’m very pleased that I could recruit these four dedicated people – although I’ve never made a secret of the fact that rectorate offices cost time,” said Professor Bayer. “I value the experience they are contributing as TU members in the areas of academic affairs, research, finance and especially international relations. And I’m excited about exchanging new ideas – unconventional ones too.” “The composition of the new Rectorate replicates very well the variety of subjects at TU Dortmund University,” said Professor Lorenz Schwachhöfer, Chairman of the Senate. “I’m looking forward to working with them in future.” Professor Ernst Rank, Chairman of the University Council, also congratulated them on their election: “I wish the new Rectorate every success in further optimizing already good conditions for students and staff at TU Dortmund University and at the same time strengthening our considerable research potential.”
Short portraits of the four new rectorate members

Professor Wiebke Möhring, born in 1970, will be responsible for Academic Affairs. She was appointed as Professor for Online and Print Journalism at TU Dortmund University in 2016, having previously been professor at Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts for seven years. As a member of the examination board for journalism degree programs, she is already familiar with the contents of many programs in other faculties via the minor subject agreements. From 2018 to 2020 she was managing director of the Institute of Journalism.

Professor Nele McElvany, born in 1977, will in future be in charge of Research. She was appointed as Professor for Empirical Educational Research at TU Dortmund University in 2009. She was previously a research associate at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin for seven years. Her main research interest is the reading skills of children and adolescents. She heads the international education study PIRLS in Germany and is also involved in other collaborative projects. Prior to her nomination as vice president, she was a member of the Senate of TU Dortmund University for two years.

Professor Tessa Flatten, born in 1980, will establish International Relations as a separate department within the Rectorate. She was appointed as Professor for Technology Management at TU Dortmund University in 2015, having previously worked as an economist at RWTH Aachen University. She has many international contacts in the USA, Asia and Russia, among others, and has been a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, for ten years. She has been collaborating with St. Petersburg University since 2017 and is helping, for example, to organize a conference on the topic of digitalization. At TU Dortmund University she is a member of the advisory board of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) and of the IT & Media Center (ITMC).

Professor Gerhard Schembecker, born in 1963, will be Vice President Finance. He was appointed as Professor for Plant and Process Design at TU Dortmund University, his alma mater, in 2005. He was previously managing director in several international start-ups. He is also Chief Financial Officer in his role as president of the UA Ruhr Liaison Office in New York. As Vice-Dean of Budget and Structure of the Faculty of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering, he is very familiar with the budgeting model of TU Dortmund University. Prior to his nomination as vice president, he was a member of the Senate of TU Dortmund University for four years.
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The campus of TU Dortmund University is located close to interstate junction Dortmund West, where the Sauerlandlinie A 45 (Frankfurt-Dortmund) crosses the Ruhrschnellweg B 1 / A 40. The best interstate exit to take from A 45 is "Dortmund-Eichlinghofen" (closer to Campus Süd), and from B 1 / A 40 "Dortmund-Dorstfeld" (closer to Campus Nord). Signs for the university are located at both exits. Also, there is a new exit before you pass over the B 1-bridge leading into Dortmund.
To get from Campus Nord to Campus Süd by car, there is the connection via Vogelpothsweg/Baroper Straße. We recommend you leave your car on one of the parking lots at Campus Nord and use the H-Bahn (suspended monorail system), which conveniently connects the two campuses.
TU Dortmund University has its own train station ("Dortmund Universität"). From there, suburban trains (S-Bahn) leave for Dortmund main station ("Dortmund Hauptbahnhof") and Düsseldorf main station via the "Düsseldorf Airport Train Station" (take S-Bahn number 1, which leaves every 20 or 30 minutes). The university is easily reached from Bochum, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Duisburg.
You can also take the bus or subway train from Dortmund city to the university: From Dortmund main station, you can take any train bound for the Station "Stadtgarten", usually lines U41, U45, U 47 and U49. At "Stadtgarten" you switch trains and get on line U42 towards "Hombruch". Look out for the Station "An der Palmweide". From the bus stop just across the road, busses bound for TU Dortmund University leave every ten minutes (445, 447 and 462). Another option is to take the subway routes U41, U45, U47 and U49 from Dortmund main station to the stop "Dortmund Kampstraße". From there, take U43 or U44 to the stop "Dortmund Wittener Straße". Switch to bus line 447 and get off at "Dortmund Universität S".
The AirportExpress is a fast and convenient means of transport from Dortmund Airport (DTM) to Dortmund Central Station, taking you there in little more than 20 minutes. From Dortmund Central Station, you can continue to the university campus by interurban railway (S-Bahn). A larger range of international flight connections is offered at Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is about 60 kilometres away and can be directly reached by S-Bahn from the university station.
The H-Bahn is one of the hallmarks of TU Dortmund University. There are two stations on Campus Nord. One ("Dortmund Universität S") is directly located at the suburban train stop, which connects the university directly with the city of Dortmund and the rest of the Ruhr Area. Also from this station, there are connections to the "Technologiepark" and (via Campus Süd) Eichlinghofen. The other station is located at the dining hall at Campus Nord and offers a direct connection to Campus Süd every five minutes.
The facilities of TU Dortmund University are spread over two campuses, the larger Campus North and the smaller Campus South. Additionally, some areas of the university are located in the adjacent "Technologiepark".
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