The first University of Wuppertal Supervisory Board
(established June 29, 2007) after its inaugural meeting on September 28.
Photo: Andreas Fischer.
Remodeling the university
1999
Meeting in Bologna, the European Ministers of Education and Science agree in June to develop new consecutive Bachelor's and Master's degree programs. Prof. Dr. Volker Ronge (Chair of Politics) is elected Rector as of October 1.
2000
As a quality control measure covering all NRW universities, UW is visited in January by a 'Council of Experts'. Trial runs start for UW's first Bachelor's and Master's degree programs on the Anglo-American model: Mathematics for Economics in the summer and Economics and IT in the winter semester. The new IT program attracts more than 200 first semester students.
2001
UW's first Chancellor (Head of Administration), Dr. Klaus Peters, retires on September 30 after almost 30 years of service to the university. He is succeeded by Hans-Joachim von Buchka. Prof. Dr. Hans Weiler is appointed mediator in the wake of the 'Council of Experts' report. From September onward he works on the development of new structures and strategies for the university. Starting in the winter semester an MSc program in IT is offered.
2002
On June 17 UW Rector Volker Ronge and Prof. Dr. Hans Weiler submit the report of the mediation process to NRW Minister of Science and Research Gabriele Behler. With a reduction in the number of faculties from fourteen to seven, the university aims to concentrate its potential and enhance its profile. New BSc/MSc programs in Printing and Media Technology, as well as in Electrical Engineering, start in the winter semester. Together with IT, these departments move into their new home in the refurbished and upgraded former military premises of Campus Freudenberg. On December 16 Rector Volker Ronge and NRW Secretary of State Hartmut Krebs sign a target agreement on the new university structure.
2003
As from January 1 the term 'Gesamthochschule' ('comprehensive university') is dropped and the official German name of UW is finalized as Bergische Universität Wuppertal. Registration starts in April for Bachelor's and Master's programs in Safety Technology and Architecture. UW's first continuous education program – in Real Estate and Construction Project Management – begins with 16 students on April 22. On May 14 Dr. Ingrid Henkels steps down after almost 25 years as Chairperson of the Society of Friends and Benefactors of the University. Rector Volker Ronge is confirmed by UW Senate for a further four-year term of office on June 4. With the beginning of the winter semester the reorganization of the 14 former faculties into the 7 new faculties A-G comes into force – the most radical restructuring since the foundation of the university.
2004
The first BSc graduates receive their degrees at a special ceremony of the Faculty of Electrical, Information and Media Engineering. Tuition fees are introduced at the beginning of the summer semester for those students who have taken longer than one-and-a-half times the standard period of study. This results in a drop in student numbers from 13,910 to 12,031 in comparison with the previous year. The new administration building is ready for occupation by the Rector's Office, some administrative departments and the Central Student Advisory and Counseling Service. Installation work begins on UW's new supercomputer ALICEnext – currently the most powerful computer at any German university . The Interdisciplinary Center for Applied Informatics and Scientific Computing is established on July 23. The Combined BA program starts at the beginning of the winter semester. The Interdisciplinary Center for Technical Process Management and the Institute of Polymer Technology start work in December.
2005
The new NRW University Act gives universities far greater autonomy in setting up and closing degree programs and appointing professors etc. From April 1 UW becomes a no smoking university. A wave of new students in the English and German departments, as well as in the Faculty of Economics, leads to the imposition of a local entry bar for the following winter semester. The Center for Educational Research and Teacher Education is established by UW Senate, meeting on June 1. On July 13 the Senate sets up the Interdisciplinary Center for Science and Technology Studies. On September 1 the Computing Center and the Audio-Visual Media Center are merged into the University Information and Media Center. Rector Volker Ronge is Chairman of the NRW University Rectors' Conference. A new printing lab is opened on December 1, offering state-of-the-art digital and offset technologies for both teaching and research. From December 15 student registration procedures can be completed online.
2006
The death is announced on January 26 of Johannes Rau, Honorary UW Senator and former German President, known familiarly as the 'Father of the University of Wuppertal. Dr. Dieter Stäglich, longstanding Director of the University Library, retires with due ceremony in February. From June 14 new degree programs leading to teaching qualifications in biology and IT become available; at the same time the Senate decides to introduce a general tuition fee. In June the Sports Department moves into the refurbished Grifflenberg Campus building on the Fuhlrottstr. They are followed in August by the Faculty of Art and DesignResearch. Day on September 2 presents UW research projects for the first time in Wuppertal city center, a communicative concept that attracts notice nationwide. The death occurs on November 27 of the Honorary UW Citizen Stella Baum. Nationwide, Bachelor's and Master's teaching degree programs are accredited on September 6 for training high school and vocational-technical college teachers. Accreditation follows on December 8 for the MEd program for primary (grade) schools, as well as lower secondary, vocational secondary, high schools and comprehensive schools. New model (BA/MA) teaching degrees, starting next winter semester, are now available for all German school forms. The MEd will in future be the standard doorway to postgraduate teacher training.
2007
Jan 1: All North Rhine-Westphalian (NRW) universities are now established as independent bodies constituted under public law (Körperschaften öffentlichen Rechts). Jan 10: On the basis of the new University Act a third target agreement (covering the next four years) is signed between UW and the State of NRW; the range of departments and subjects taught remains unaffected. Feb 8: Inaugural meeting (chaired by Gerd Scholz) of the new Complaints Committee set up by the Rector's Office as a channel for students dissatisfied with the quality of teaching or academic organization. Mar 14: Opening of the Institute Library, donated by former UW rector Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c. Siegfried Maser, at the Solingen Forum for Product Design. Mar 30: Unveiling of a bronze bust of Johannes Rau (former NRW Prime Minister, German President, and 'Father of UW') at the Freudenberg Campus lecture hall center. April 17: From the beginning of the summer semester tuition fees are now also levied on advanced students, with an online portal providing information on the use to which tuition fees are put. April: 25th anniversary of the partnership agreement between UW and the Technical University of Kosice; a delegation led by TUK Rector Prof. Dr. Juraij Sinay visits UW. May 30: The University Library starts its new extended opening times: weekdays till 10 p.m. and Saturdays. June 5: A new Service Center for students and visitors opens on the UW online portal. June 29: Appointment by NRW Ministry of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology, and confirmation by UW Senate, of members of the new University Supervisory Board: Dr. h.c. Josef Beutelmann, Prof. Dr. Christiane Spiel, Dr. Hans-Udo Klein, Dipl.-Kfm. Achim Meyer auf der Heyde, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Hanswille, Prof. Dr. Friedrich Steinle. July: LSF, the new UW course information system, goes online, opening with the Faculty of Humanities course plan for winter semester 2007/08. July: The last Diploma Degree programs are dropped from the UW teaching program; as from winter semester 2007/08 no further registrations will take place. September 1: The first 'University in the City' Research Day, with exhibits, experiments and presentations in Wuppertal's inner city area is a great success. September: Children's Research Days fascinate more than 1300 children aged 4-14 with scientific experiments and topics. October 11: New degree programs in Computational Mechanical Engineering (MSc), History (MA), Industrial Design (BA), Communications Design (BA), Philosophy (MA), Real Estate Planning, Construction and Management (MSc), Psychology (BSc), Romance Studies (MA), and Sociology (BA), start at the beginning of winter semester 2007/08. October: The combined BA is extended to incorporate a further 11 subjects and launches the trial phase of its consecutive teacher-training degree model. October: Funded by the Jackstädt Foundation three PhD students start work in a research training group on demographic change in the Bergisch Land region (between Cologne and Wuppertal) under the direction of Prof. Huber and Prof. Ronge. October 18: Establishment of a Foundation Chair for Security Systems and an associated Institute in Niederberg (Velbert-Heiligenhaus). October 26: Signing of a cooperation agreement with Cologne University Faculty of Music as a step in the accreditation process of a new BA program in Early Musical Education. October 26: Increased student numbers (3000 matriculations in the current winter semester) make it necessary to hire a cinema in downtown Wuppertal to create additional lecture hall capacity. October: Investigating 'black holes', UW astrophysicists led by Prof. Karl-Heinz Kampert take part in the world's biggest experiment, at the 3000 sq km Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina.