In recent years, governance at
Austrian universities has been subjected to a series of reforms.
Finally, in 2002 a new University Act (UG 2002) transformed university
institutions from state agencies into public enterprises. Some people
claim that universities were privatized, but this interpretation is not
correct; universities remain ‘legal persons under public law’ (Körperschaften öffentlichen Rechts).
The federal government retains responsibility for basic funding, but
universities are exempt from the fiscal regulations of the federal
budget and instead receive lump sum budgets at their own discretion.
Resources are allocated on the basis of performance contracts. Twenty
percent of the budget allocation will be determined by indicators. The
internal organization of universities – previously prescribed by law –
is now determined by statutes (Satzung) decided by the academic senate. Each university has a university’s board of trustees (Universitätsrat)
of between five and nine members, half of them elected by the academic
senate, and the other half appointed by the Minister of Education.
Presidents are elected by the university’s board of trustees. Thus
presidents are less dependent on university academic bodies, but more
dependent on the board of trustees. The new universities are the
employers of all academic and non-academic staff. Academics are no
longer civil servants, but are employed with private contracts. It is
fair to say that the pattern of governance is now quite similar to that
of public universities in the US.
What role should national science academies play in policy and politics?
One answer to this question was provided last month when eleven
national science academies sent a letter to "world leaders, including
those meeting at the Gleneagles G8 Summit in July 2005" advocating a
number of specific policy actions on climate change. The letter –
from science academies in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany,
India, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States
– indicates that these national science academies perceive one of their
roles to be overt political advocacy.
Discussions on the Constitution, the
Financial Perspectives (the forthcoming budget of the EU Commission),
and the impact of research on competitiveness and growth are the
leading agenda of European politicians. Due to the barbarian attack in
London the fight against terrorism became another high level job.
Running the National Institute of
Standards & Technology (NIST) is quite a challenge. After all, this
federal agency employs some 3000 scientists, engineers, technicians,
and administrative staff developing standards and measurements and
conducting one of the nation’s most interesting technology development
programs, the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). Running the National
Science Foundation (NSF), the agency that funds about 20% of all
federally-supported basic research at American universities and
colleges, is certainly an equally formidable task. What sort of
challenge would it be to run both NSF and NIST at the same time? An
impossible one, you might say. Still, it’s precisely the sort of
challenge Arden L. Bement, seems to relish.
When Lukas Pezawas returned to
Austria to become Director of the ambulatory care unit for the Clinical
Department of General Psychiatry at the Medical University of Vienna
(MUV), he did not return empty-handed but with a briefcase full of very
promising research results. After three years of research at the
renowned US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), he is now eager
to apply them at his new – and former – home base in Vienna.
In recent years, governance at
Austrian universities has been subjected to a series of reforms.
Finally, in 2002 a new University Act (UG 2002) transformed university
institutions from state agencies into public enterprises. Some people
claim that universities were privatized, but this interpretation is not
correct; universities remain ‘legal persons under public law’ (
What role should national science academies play in policy and politics?
Discussions on the Constitution, the
Financial Perspectives (the forthcoming budget of the EU Commission),
and the impact of research on competitiveness and growth are the
leading agenda of European politicians. Due to the barbarian attack in
London the fight against terrorism became another high level job.
Running the National
Science Foundation (NSF), the agency that funds about 20% of all
federally-supported basic research at American universities and
colleges, is certainly an equally formidable task. What sort of
challenge would it be to run both NSF and NIST at the same time? An
impossible one, you might say. Still, it’s precisely the sort of
challenge Arden L. Bement, seems to relish.
When Lukas Pezawas returned to
Austria to become Director of the ambulatory care unit for the Clinical
Department of General Psychiatry at the Medical University of Vienna
(MUV), he did not return empty-handed but with a briefcase full of very
promising research results. After three years of research at the
renowned US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), he is now eager
to apply them at his new – and former – home base in Vienna. 