The newest foundation at the University

They fund students' studies abroad and research projects, support researchers during their projects and give instructors the possibility to try out new ideas in their seminars and lectures: the 51 foundations at the University of Freiburg bear the character of their respective founders. Sarah Schwarzkopf will present some of the foundations in a new series.

The University of Freiburg is moving into new territory in 2017 with the Grünewald Zuberbier Foundation. The second largest and, at the same time, newest foundation at the University will distribute funding for the first time this year. „We don't have any experience yet as we haven't offered any financial support to date," reports Jasmin Bernhard from the endowment administration at the University of Freiburg.

The endowment funds from the foundation will benefit students and emerging scientists in both the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Biology.
Photo: Peter Mesenholl

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Grünewald and his wife Dr. Erika Grünewald-Zuberbier have endowed their entire wealth – nearly 2,200,000€ – to the University of Freiburg to set up a trust foundation. The married couple conducted neuroscientific research on brain activity during hand movements at, among other places, the Neurocenter together with the Department for Neurophysiology in Freiburg. They wanted to support emerging researchers at the University of Freiburg's Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Biology with the foundation's revenues. Their wills clearly state that their foundation is meant to support both men and women in equal measure regardless of their nationality. It should subsidize students and researchers in both medicine and biology during their study abroad in the form of scholarships, for instance. Only those who plan on studying at foreign universities or scientific institutions for several months for the purpose of studying or engaging in scientific research will be considered for funding.

The Grünewald Zuberbier Foundation has been in existence since 2014. It is not unusual for a foundation to distribute funds for the first time three years after its founding: „We were not required to distribute funds for the first two years after it was founded. We used the interest accumulated during that time to build capital," explains Andreas Lang, Head of the Department of Endowment and Estate Taxes at the University of Freiburg. It is standard procedure for newly founded foundations at the University.

The Grünewald Zuberbier Foundation is one of three independently run foundations at the University of Freiburg. That means it belongs neither to the endowment fund nor to the funding associations at the University. The dean's offices for the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Biology make the decision together regarding the annual distribution of funds while including the faculty executive boards. Although medicine receives a lot of support from various foundations already, it is relatively new that biology has started to receive more funding attention. „It is the first time that both faculties have to decide together where the money will flow," according to Bernhard. The amount the Grünewald Zuberbier Foundation will distribute in 2017 is impressive: both faculties are able to spend 21,500€ altogether.

Foundations of the University of Freiburg

Some of the 51 foundations of the University of Freiburg date back to the Late Middle Ages. The 17 oldest ones form the United Academic Endowment Holding, while the newer ones – with three exceptions – belong to the Endowment Funds. The university receives the capital stock in the form of real or monetary assets and invests it. Each year it distributes two-thirds of the earnings of each foundation, while the remaining third is put aside to compensate for inflation. The donors determine who is eligible to apply for aid. As a rule, need is given greater consideration than ability. The founders have also defined in statutes the individual aims of their respective foundations.

All foundations at a glance