In 2025, Bonn and St Andrews are delighted to welcome three distinguished professors to the joint appointee cohort, bringing the total cohort number to eleven. These scholars will build on the excellent work already underway, contributing to academic life at both universities, strengthening existing research and teaching collaborations, and fostering new opportunities for development and long-lasting partnerships.
New joint professors selected in 2025 from the University of Bonn:
- Professor Thomas Döring, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation
- Professor Karin Peters, Institute for Classical and Romance Philology
Selected from the University of St Andrews and currently in the appointment process:
- Professor Kathryn Rudy, School of Art History
Commenting on the recent selections, Professor Birgit Ulrike Münch, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at the University of Bonn, said: “The Joint Professorships have been absolutely instrumental in building an ever-closer partnership between our two institutions. They contribute to deepening our collaborations in research and teaching across a variety of fields and subjects. We are delighted to welcome Professor Kathryn Rudy at the University of Bonn and look forward to continuing the exchange of excellent academics through the coming rounds in this successful scheme.”
Professor Ineke De Moortel, Master of the United College at St Andrews, added: “With the Bonn–St Andrews Joint Appointment cohort expanding through this new intake of distinguished researchers, the considerable impact of this innovative initiative on our strategic partnership is clear. Building on decades of shared history, the joint appointees are key to advancing the world-class research and teaching at both institutions while fostering stronger connections between our academic communities.”
The Universities of Bonn and St Andrews are also pleased to announce that the 2026 round of the Bonn-St Andrews Joint Appointment scheme has expanded its eligibility criteria to allow more senior academic career levels to apply, including Senior Lecturers and Readers at the University of St Andrews. The deadline to apply to this scheme is 20 January 2026. Potential applicants can contact Samantha Lister at the University of St Andrews or Professor Birgit Ulrike Münch at the University of Bonn to discuss.
Statements of the newly selected researchers:
“I’m really looking forward to the joint work at the University of St Andrews. In the School of Biology, and with further collaborators in Scotland, we will be looking at temporal stability in agricultural and ecological time series. This is particularly important in the face of increasing weather fluctuations caused by climate change. I feel very honored to be given the opportunity to work closely with Professor Anne Magurran at St Andrews, who is a world-leading expert in biodiversity research. Our exchange is also designed to help foster a mutual understanding of our different disciplinary approaches and to build bridges between agriculture and ecology.” Thomas Döring, Professor of Agroecology and Organic Farming – University of Bonn.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to deepen the links between the Romance Studies department in Bonn and the renowned School of Modern Languages in St Andrews as part of the joint research professorship. Together with Paul Lennon (Spanish Department) and in cooperation with Ted Bergman, Jordi Larios, Julia Prest, and Claudia Rossignoli, I will be launching a project in the coming years on the socio-political transactional value of early modern, transnational, and multilingual literature in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Naples. We will examine how imperial literary historiography in the following period monologically overrode this heritage in order to ideologically place literature at the service of the Habsburg Empire, and we will broaden our view of 16th- and 17th-century literature in Europe beyond the boundaries of national philologies. The concept of joint research professorships offers a unique format for this, which corresponds perfectly to the spirit of the project.” Professor Karin Peters, Chair of Romance Literature and Cultural Studies – University of Bonn.
“Being a Bonn–St Andrews Joint Research Professor lets me work with Professor Birgit Ulrike Münch to bring the voices of Notre-Dame back to life. We will read, stage and film the Grand Obituary and Marian poems, in Latin, French and in English, and share them as podcasts and videos. In parallel we will build a joint MLitt (a joint Masters programme) that moves students between our campuses and nearby collections, where they study objects first-hand and create short films and other digital work. This post turns shared ideas into shared practice.” Professor Kathryn Rudy, School of Art History – University of St Andrews.
Further information: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study-abroad/global-connections/strategic-partnerships/bonn/
Applications are now being accepted for the next round of joint appointments. The deadline is Tuesday 20 January 2026 (noon – local time). The information is available on Confluence (internal): https://confluence.team.uni-bonn.de/x/QwYbC
