After 908 men at the head of Rostock University, a female rector has now been elected for the first time. The subject of equality has always been important to media scientist Elizabeth Prommer in her academic work.
Rostock (dpa/mv) – With Elizabeth Prommer, for the first time in the more than 600-year history of the University of Rostock, a woman is at the head of the traditional educational institution. In the regular rector election on Wednesday evening, the 57-year-old professor of communication and media studies received the required number of votes from the 65 members of the council in the second ballot, the university announced. In the first ballot neither of the two candidates had reached the required minimum number of 33 votes.
Prommer, the first woman after 908 male rectors in Rostock, prevailed against her competitor, mathematics professor Klaus Neymeyr. She will thus succeed the previous rector, Wolfgang Schareck. The 69-year-old doctor is retiring in April 2023 after 14 years.
Born in the USA, Prommer studied in Los Angeles, Munich and Leipzig. She then worked and taught academically in Munich, Hamburg and Vienna, among other places, before becoming director of the Institute for Media Research in Rostock in 2011/2012 and taking over the chair for communication and media studies. She has been the dean of the interdisciplinary faculty since 2021.
Prommer recently caused a stir with a comprehensive study on the role of women in film and television. She had proven that women are used far less as speakers and moderators and are much more often stereotyped in film roles.
“My goal is the University of Rostock as a place where academic variety and diversity is lived and promoted, a place where young people can develop, but also a place where people like to work well together,” explained Prommer your choice. The term of office is five years.
Minister of Science Bettina Martin (SPD) congratulated Prommer on being elected rector and praised her as a committed and highly competent scientist. “I wish Professor Dr. Prommer good luck and success in her future work,” wrote Martin in a statement that was distributed in the evening.
The University of Rostock is one of the most traditional universities in Europe. It was founded in 1419 as “Alma Mater Rostochiensis”, is the third oldest university in Germany and the oldest in the entire Baltic Sea region. It consists of nine faculties and currently has around 13,000 students.
