Prof. Dr. Johannes Grave, deputy spokesperson of the SFB 1288 since the SFB's beginning in January 2017, left Bielefeld University and took up a professorship at Friedrich Schiller University Jena this summer term. He remains principal investigator at the SFB and also a member of the SFB's board of directors, but stepped down from his position as deputy spokesperson.

During these last years Johannes Grave played a crucial part in contributing to the SFB's research programme, organization and discussions. The SFB is very thankful, namely Prof. Dr. Angelika Epple, SFB 1288 spokesperson, and Prof. Dr. Walter Erhart, deputy spokesperson, and especially glad that Johannes Grave remains an active part of the SFB 1288.

Prof. Dr. Tobias Werron, who is leading an SFB-associated and also DFG-funded project together with Leopold Ringel on the "Institutionalization of Rankings", has been appointed as new deputy spokesperson. The SFB gains a really well-suited successor with him as he has also contributed a lot to the SFB's discussions and contents and is a long-time advisor and supporter of the research on comparing.

The leadership team of the SFB is now assembled out of three disciplines—sociology, history and literary studies—which will further strengthen the interdisciplinary dialogue.