Four honours, classical concert pieces and standing ovations: around 550 guests enjoyed an atmospheric evening on Thursday at the New Year’s reception hosted by the University and the University Society (UGO) at the Oldenburg State Theatre.
Verdi, Rossini, Mascagni, Lehár, Lanner and Resnicek: on Thursday evening, the State Theatre presented a varied gala concert for the University and its friends – and provided a fitting setting to honour four individuals for their outstanding contributions. University President Prof. Dr Dr Hans Michael Piper presented the historian Prof. Dr Dagmar Freist, the marine biologist Prof. Dr Helmut Hillebrand, the recently retired Vice-President Prof. Dr Martin Holthaus and the long-serving Head Librarian Hans-Joachim Wätjen with the President’s Plaque. “A university is only as good as the people who are committed to it. It gives me great pleasure today to honour four individuals who have, without a shadow of a doubt, distinguished themselves here,” emphasised Piper.
The historian Prof. Dr Dagmar Freist was honoured for her outstanding contributions to Oldenburg as a centre of research: her research project ‘Prize Papers’ has been included in the programme of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and is thus part of Germany’s largest research programme in the humanities and social sciences. According to Piper, this makes it possible to systematically catalogue, scientifically analyse and make available to the public the unique collection of more than three million documents relating to ship captures from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Freist and her team had stumbled upon these forgotten collections in the British National Archives in 2012.
Prof. Dr Helmut Hillebrand, one of the world’s most frequently cited experts on biodiversity, also received the award for his outstanding commitment to research: in 2017, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) was opened on the Oldenburg campus. Hillebrand was the inspiration and driving force behind the conception and successful application for funding of this institute – unique in Europe – which the university established in collaboration with the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven. According to Piper, he has thus rendered outstanding service to the university. As founding director, Hillebrand will develop the Institute – which will investigate the importance of biodiversity for marine ecosystems and their response to human-induced and climate-related changes – over the coming years.
The third honour of the evening was bestowed upon the physicist Prof. Dr Martin Holthaus, who, over the past two years as Vice-President for Research and Transfer, has helped shape the university both internally and externally. According to the tribute, beyond the usual duties of a Vice-President, he has been particularly committed to advising on and preparing major collaborative research projects, as well as to promoting young scientific talent. Piper also emphasised that he had played a significant part in the success of the proposal submitted by the University and Jade University of Applied Sciences as part of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research’s ‘Innovative University’ competition.
Hans-Joachim Wätjen, who is due to retire in a few weeks after almost four decades at the university, received the award for his exceptional commitment to the university library. He has been involved in the library’s management since 1983, initially as permanent deputy to the then director, then as library director and, from 2000, as chief library director. According to the tribute, Hans-Joachim Wätjen is held in the highest regard both within the university and in professional circles thanks to his tireless efforts to ensure that the university library remains at the cutting edge of academic research.
The cultural highlight of the evening was the programme of classical New Year’s concert pieces, Italian arias, Spanish songs and Neapolitan canzonettas – performed by the Oldenburg State Orchestra with soloists from the opera ensemble. The guests responded to the concert at the end with a standing ovation. Prior to this, they were welcomed by Lord Mayor Jürgen Krogmann, University President Piper and UGO Chairman Hon. Prof. Dr Werner Brinker, and General Director Christian Firmbach set the tone for the evening. The performance was followed by the traditional ‘after-party’.
By purchasing their tickets, guests at the New Year’s reception once again supported the “Deutschlandstipendium” programme, which provides funding for particularly talented and committed students.
