Profiles of the new members:
Professor Hermann Parzinger, who was President of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) in Berlin from 2008 to 2025, is one of the world’s most prominent archaeologists and research managers. After earning his doctorate and Habilitation at Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität München, Parzinger served for many years as Director of the German Archaeological Institute. Professor Parzinger is a member of several national and international academies and the recipient of numerous awards including the Leibniz Prize and the Federal Cross of Merit.
Dr. Nora Kalbarczyk is the Secretary General of the Catholic Academic Exchange Service (KAAD) in Bonn. She studied Islamic Studies and German Language and Literature in Berlin and Cairo. After completing her doctorate and holding various positions in international education and higher education policy, she took over as managing director of KAAD in 2021. Dr. Kalbarczyk is involved in numerous committees promoting international academic exchange.
Dr. Hubertus Hille is the chief executive of the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). After studying economics at the Universities of Bonn and Kent and obtaining his doctorate at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg, he held management positions at an insurance group, the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and the Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce. He has been head of the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg Chamber of Industry and Commerce since 2012 and is particularly committed to promoting networking between science and industry in the region.
Thanks expressed to the departing members
University Council Chair Dr. Georg Schütte thanked the three outgoing council members for their dedicated work for more than a decade. Professors Helmut Schwarz and Dieter Engels joined the University Council in 2013, of which Professor Engels served as chair until early 2025. Professor Emil Jürgen Zöllner joined the council in 2014. “I would like to thank the three departing members for their contributions to the University of Bonn by providing advice and support during a crucial phase of its development. My predecessor was instrumental in setting the stage for the institution’s evolution into the University of Excellence it is today—an unparalleled success story,” said Schütte. “The new members joining the council are outstanding individuals whose experience and contacts will move the University further forward along our path of strategic development as an institution. I look forward to working together with them.”
Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch addressed the departing and new members of the University Council: “We had three of the most outstanding minds in German academia and politics on our University Council in the form of Dieter Engels, Helmut Schwarz and Jürgen Zöllner. Their vast experience and strategic foresight have been invaluable to the Rectorate and to me personally for over a decade. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to them for this. I am very much looking forward to working with the new members. I am convinced that, with their diverse backgrounds and expertise, they will provide us with excellent support as we take the next steps towards a successful future.”
As a governance body the University Council is anchored in the Higher Education Act of North Rhine-Westphalia (Hochschulgesetz, HG). The primary function of the council is to advise and oversee the Rectorate in its managerial capacity. According to its bylaws the University Council should be at least 50% constituted of members from external organizations. Council members are individuals who are distinguished for having made outstanding contributions to society, culture and/or the academic community. At Bonn, the University Council is comprised of nine external and four internal members.
Contact:
University Council Office
Phone: +49 228 73-69071
E-mail: hochschulrat@uni-bonn.de
For more information on the University Council see:
https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/university/organisation-and-institutions/governing-bodies/university_council?set_language=en
