Christina Leib Takes Up Office as Head of Administration
Freiburg, Apr 01, 2022
The University of Freiburg has a new head of administration: Christina Leib took up office on 1 April 2022. She was elected in July at a joint session of the Senate and the University Council. A native of Konstanz, she worked at the University of Konstanz for more than three decades in various areas of financial administration, external funding administration, and research administration, also as vice head of administration. At the University of Freiburg, she will be in charge of the Administrative Departments of Organization, Finances, Human Resources, Construction and Infrastructure, and Legal Affairs. Leib succeeds the jurist Dr. Matthias Schenek, who had served as the University of Freiburg’s head of administration since 2008. She introduces herself and her goals in an interview with Annette Kollefrath-Persch.
Christina Leib-Keßler. Foto: Sandra Meyndt
Ms. Leib, you have served in academic governance and university administration for 30 years – what motivated you and still motivates you today to work in this area?
Christina Leib: After completing practical training and a course of study in public administration at the Kehl University of Applied Sciences, I started my career rather untypically at the University of Konstanz. I say untypically because the course of study is often associated with administrative work in municipal or county administration. I was fascinated and motivated from the outset by the very different kind of administration, by the opportunity to provide administrative support for research and teaching. That has not changed throughout all the decades of my career so far.
What moved you to make the switch to the University of Freiburg, and what are you especially looking forward to here?
After two years as the deputy Head of Administration of the University of Konstanz, I decided I could imagine holding this office on a permanent basis. Also, my personal situation was such that it was possible for me to change locations. That led me to apply here in Freiburg. I am now very much looking forward to getting to know my colleagues and gaining insight into the operations here. I have already had the chance to begin doing so in various contexts in the past three months.
What are your goals as head of administration?
A major concern of mine is communication and information between the different areas and levels of the University of Freiburg. That’s why I want to talk to a lot of employees, see strengths, and identify potential weaknesses so that we can work on them as part of the overall strategic process. The Working Group for Organization and Administration seems to me to provide a good basis for this. Another area of focus will be the process of consolidating the budget. I have perceived a great willingness for joint problem solving in various committees.
What is important for you in your work and in your interactions with employees and students? How do you want to get to know the university and the university community?
As perhaps already became clear in my introductory speech on the occasion of my election, I regard personal conversations as a necessary foundation for getting to know people. I already had the opportunity for several conversations in the past months, particularly in the administrative area. I would now like to intensify this. I would be happy if members of the university community want to engage in conversation with me and approach me on appropriate occasions.