BGHS.NEWS

Change of BGHS directors: Klaus Weinhauer leaves - Frank Grüner arrives

There has been a change of BGHS Director as of 1 October 2024. Klaus Weinhauer has retired and has therefore left. Ruth Ayaß was unanimously elected by the Board as the new BGHS Director, and the new Deputy Director is Frank Grüner, who was also unanimously elected by the Board.

We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Klaus Weinhauer for his commitment to the BGHS, which has contributed significantly to making the BGHS office fit for the future after many years of transition.

© Klaus Weinhauer

Klaus Weinhauer was active in the BGHS for many years. He became a member of the Executive Board in the summer semester of 2018 and was involved in a wide range of discussions, procedures and decisions. It was a busy time, as it was the last year in which the BGHS was very generously funded, primarily through the Excellence Initiative. And it was also the year in which the transition to "the time after" really started. It was unclear what the BGHS would look like afterwards.

The next turning point came in the summer semester of 2021, when the then Director of the BGHS, Thomas Welskopp, fell seriously ill and died shortly afterwards. In this difficult situation, Klaus very quickly agreed to act as acting director together with Ruth Ayaß as deputy director and Sabine Schäfer as executive manager to steer the BGHS into calmer waters. And in the summer semester of 2022, he was then elected as the 'real' Director by the BGHS Board.

A new team of directors is always a challenge for the BGHS office. This is because everyone has their own preferences and brings their own ideas and expectations with them. It always takes a moment for things to 'settle down'. We very quickly felt like a team with Klaus and Ruth. We were able to convey to them that the BGHS office cannot be a one-woman show, but that it needed reinforcement in order to become - as they say today - resilient and to function in the long run. They worked persistently and tirelessly to secure a permanent position for Clara Buitrago, our coordinator for internationalisation. It is thanks to Klaus and Ruth's negotiating skills that the Faculties agreed to fund half a position permanently. We are infinitely grateful to everyone involved! Since July 2024, there are therefore two permanent members of staff at the BGHS, namely Clara and Sabine, and so after six years the transition has finally been completed. We are delighted that Klaus was able to bring in the harvest during his term of office.

We got to know Klaus as a committed researcher who has a keen sense for the political and social dimensions of research. He tackles problems without hesitation - but can also let them go when they are done. He makes a real effort to minimise the hierarchical differences that exist at universities and in science, and also takes young researchers seriously at the beginning of their careers. This has made working with him a pleasure.

However, we are also very much looking forward to working with Frank Grüner, who is now working alongside Ruth Ayaß as head of the BGHS. Frank also knows the BGHS well, as he has been a member of the BGHS Board since 2022 and was Dean of the Faculty of History, Philosophy and Theology for the last two years. The team is now complete again and we look forward to what the future holds.

© Ruth Ayaß, Frank Grüner