The medical doctor and Director of the Institute for Molecular Medicine III at Düsseldorf University Hospital, Prof Dr Dr Hans Michael Piper (62), was unanimously elected as the new President of the University of Oldenburg by the University Senate in the first round of voting today.
Piper had been proposed to the University Senate for election by the search committee. The University Council, which according to the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act (NHG) must give its opinion on the election, welcomed the University Senate's decision at its meeting today.
The acting President of the University of Oldenburg, Prof Dr Katharina Al-Shamery, congratulated Piper on his election. She was delighted that the University of Oldenburg had gained an experienced president. Piper was also a wise choice in view of the expected changes in the German higher education landscape and the increasing competition between universities.
Piper himself said in an initial statement: "I am very pleased about the trust placed in me. Since it was founded 41 years ago, the University of Oldenburg has always been open to new approaches. I see the most important potential for the challenges of the coming years in this particular creativity and in the strong roots in the city and region. I would like to promote this to the best of my ability with a competent Executive Board team."
Piper, born in Kiel in 1952, studied medicine, physics and philosophy at the University of Göttingen. His Diplom in physics (1978) was followed a year later by a doctorate in medicine and a doctorate in philosophy in 1980. In 1985, Piper qualified as a professor in the subject of physiology. In the same year, he was appointed professor at the University of Düsseldorf.
After research stays in England and Canada and a call to Kiel, the scientist accepted a professorship in physiology at the University of Giessen in 1994. Piper held various positions there: he was Director of the Institute of Physiology for many years, Vice Dean and later Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, a member of the Board of Directors of Giessen University Hospital and a member of the Management Board of Giessen and Marburg University Hospital. From 2007 to 2008, Piper served as founding director of the Giessen Graduate Centre for Life Sciences and in 2008 as president of the annual conference of the German Society of Cardiology. From November 2008 to October 2014, the physician was Rector of the University of Düsseldorf. Since November, Piper has been Director of the Institute for Molecular Medicine III at Düsseldorf University Hospital.
In recent years, the scientist has held numerous important positions. For example, he was President of the German Physiological Society, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the German Diabetes Centre (Leibniz Institute), Deputy Chair of the Administrative Board of the Leibniz Institute for Environmental Medical Research and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Düsseldorf Business School.
