Health goes from three to two vice-deans
From the turn of the year, the Dean's Office at Health will consist of two vice-deans – one for research and one for education. The aim is to ensure the greatest possible cohesion in resolving tasks and to strengthen the faculty’s international and interdisciplinary work along with the external collaboration with companies and foundations.
When Vice-dean Charlotte Ringsted retires and leaves her position at the end of the year, the Dean’s Office at Health will not only go from three to two vice-deans. The faculty will also take the opportunity to reorganise some of the tasks and responsibilities internally in the Dean’s Office.
“We’ve discussed the new organisation of the Dean’s Office in both the faculty management team and the liaison committee and there is general agreement that it will make it easier for the departments, academic environments and the partners we work to identify where a task is anchored,” says Dean Lars Bo Nielsen. He also points out that having a Dean’s Office with two vice-deans actually reflects the organisation that already exists in the majority of Health’s departments and at AU in general, with an interdisciplinary committee for research and an interdisciplinary committee for education.
New tasks for Lise Wogensen Bach
The current vice-dean for talent and external relations, Lise Wogensen Bach, will take over the position of vice-dean for education, with the milestones for the coming years being: interdisciplinary collaboration; coherence between research, career development and education; business collaboration; entrepreneurship; and, not least, internationalisation.
Dean Lars Bo Nielsen is pleased that Lise Wogensen Bach has said yes to the task.
“Lise has unique competences that will be an invaluable asset in the educational area. She has extensive experience with strategic management, she has an international outlook, and she has succeeded in leading broad cross-disciplinary collaborations. I’m therefore very pleased that she will be heading the educational area from the turn of the year,” he says.
He underlines that talent development will not be given a lower priority—on the contrary. In the future, talent development will be integrated in both of the vice-dean’s portfolio of tasks.
“Talent development is vital for both areas – research and education – and it requires close collaboration with the management at the departments and with the study environments. So it makes sense for both vice-deans to have responsibility for talent development,” he says.
New vice-dean for research
As far as research goes, Ole Steen Nielsen has announced – independently of the reorganisation – that he does not wish to reapply for his position due to his age. This means that the faculty will need to find a new vice-dean for research to take over when Ole Steen Nielsen’s contract ends in 2020.
In a new measure, the vice-dean for research will also take over responsibility for Health’s graduate school. As things are today, the head of graduate school refers to the vice-dean for talent and external relations, but after the tasks swap places in the new year, the vice-dean for research will have overall responsibly for the research field at Health, including talent development from PhD to senior academic level, while the vice-dean for education will be responsible for talent development in the pre-graduate area.
According to Dean Lars Bo Nielsen, the recruitment process will begin as soon as possible and the position will be widely advertised.
Read also Health to begin the search for a new vice-dean for research.