A Commitment to Scholarship

The general meeting of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) has elected Prof. Dr. Kerstin Krieglstein, rector of the University of Freiburg, to HRK Vice-President for Research, Junior Academics, Medicine and Health Sciences. Her period in office begins on 1 December 2020 and runs for one year. Ms Krieglstein was also elected onto the enlarged board of the HRK member group of universities. “I thank my colleagues for the trust they have shown me,” says Krieglstein. “At a time that is shaped by global challenges such as the corona pandemic and climate change, universities have a great responsibility to contribute to public debate on the basis of their scientific findings. I want to strengthen this exchange with society further – as the rector of a high-achieving comprehensive university and also as HRK Vice-President for Research, Junior Academics, Medicine and Health Sciences.”

Kerstin Krieglstein has been the rector of the University of Freiburg since 1 October 2020. She studied Chemistry and Pharmacy, completing her PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Marburg in 1990, and took her postdoctoral lecturing qualification in Anatomy and Cellular Biology at the University of Heidelberg in 1997. After holding chairs at the University of Göttingen and the University of the Saarland, in 2007 she took up the Chair of Anatomy at the University of Freiburg. From 1 April 2014 she was the first salaried dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Freiburg and at the same time a member of the board of the Freiburg University Medical Center. Between 1 August 2018 and 30 September 2020 she was rector of the University of Konstanz. Since 2007 Krieglstein has also been a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

The HRK is a voluntary association currently made up of 268 public and government-recognized universities in Germany. It functions as the voice of the universities in dialogue with politicians and the public and as the central forum for opinion-forming in the higher education sector.

Press Release of the German Rectors’ Conference

Press photo for download
Photo: Sandra Meyndt