The University Electoral Assembly is composed of the members of the Senate and the University Council. Both groups have equal voting weight. The election body is chaired by the Chairman of the Senate, Prof. Dr. Rainer Hüttemann. In the summer of this year, the University Council and the Senate had invited the incumbent provost to run again.
Holger Gottschalk was born in Kelkheim/Taunus in 1970 and studied economics in Frankfurt. He held various leadership positions at Goethe University Frankfurt since 2004 before becoming permanent deputy to the provost in 2011 and finally provost in July 2012.
The chairman of the University Electoral Assembly, Prof. Hüttemann, congratulated Gottschalk on his re-election: "Mr. Gottschalk has helped shape the University of Bonn over the past five years. As head of the University administration with its nearly 700 employees and as the person responsible for the University's budget of around 700 million euros, he has made a significant contribution to the success of the alma mater."
His first term in office saw the University of Bonn's outstanding success in the federal and state excellence competition, from which it emerged with the title of excellence and as the only university with six funded Clusters of Excellence.
Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch was among the first congratulators after the election. He said, "Holger Gottschalk was and is a stroke of luck for our University. He is a very accomplished and agile provost who has done a great job of developing the University administration in recent years. This has contributed in a special way to the success of excellence at University of Bonn. I am pleased as Rector and also very personally that with his re-election the continuity of the Rectorate team is secured for the next years and that we can lead the University together into the future."
University Council Chairman Prof. Dr. Dieter Engels said, "Holger Gottschalk has a clear vision for the coming years. His administration has already been reorganized in many parts, preparing the ground for the successful implementation of the excellence strategy. His goal in this is clear: to move the University forward and defend the title of excellence."
Among the many major projects Gottschalk has set himself for the new term, however, is not only the administration's contribution to "defending the title" in the excellence competition, which is due in 2025/2026. He also wants to push ahead with the digitization of all administrative processes and services: "My goal is a powerful administration that is very well positioned in terms of personnel and structure, and that provides optimum support for the bodies and members of the University of Bonn in a proactive and cooperative manner in tackling its major tasks for the future." He added that what has already been accomplished is a team effort of which the University administration can be proud: "What has been achieved in the past five years is already extraordinary. I thank my staff for their support and the University's governing bodies for their continued trust."