On January 30, Annica Ekman, professor of meteorology at the Department of Meteorology, was re-elected chair of Stockholm University’s Consultative Assembly.
“It feels good, the Consultative Assembly is particularly interesting because it involves representatives from both areas of the university, staff from all categories and also students. There are many wise people and opinions. In the coming months, the Assembly will also be particularly important when a new President is to be elected,” she says.
The Consultative Assembly at Stockholm University consists of 60 members who are elected for three-year terms, of which 36 are representatives of teachers or researchers, 12 are representatives of other employees and 12 are representatives of students.
The group has an advisory function and will be consulted during the process of proposing a new President and appointing a Vice President. The group of teachers or researchers also appoints representatives to the University Board. This year, the task is to give an opinion on the recruitment group’s proposal for a new President for Stockholm University who will be installed from the 1st of February 2025. The recruitment group manages the ongoing recruitment work.
What will be your most important task in the near future?
“It will be to ensure that the Consultative Assembly meets with representatives from the recruitment group throughout the process of selecting a new President. And also, that the Assembly receives as much information as possible about the different stages, that we can make comments on the profile of requirement and desired qualities of the new President, and that we may ask questions to the final candidate or candidates. Of course, the Presidents Office will assist in the whole process. We will also appoint a working group that will help prepare the meetings of the Consultative Assembly.”
During the spring, the recruitment group will conduct interviews and select the candidate or candidates to be presented to the Consultative Assembly. After the presentation, the Assembly will report its views to the recruitment group.
What are you most looking forward to?
“It will be very exciting to see who will be SU’s next President, of course!”
What do you hope to contribute with?
“That the Consultative Assembly is given as much space as possible during the President’s recruitment process. And that those who are part of the Assembly feel that they can express their opinions in a good way and that they are listened to.”
What is important regarding the next President?
“Well, it’s very difficult to know what will be important for the next President – we’ve seen just in the last three years that a lot can happen that not many people anticipated. It may sound trivial, but I think that the next President simply has to be a very wise person. A person who is also brave, who stands for SU’s values and who can inspire employees and students at SU.”
When the recruitment group has received the Consultative Assembly’s opinion on the candidate or candidates, they submit their proposal for President to the University Board, which decides on the proposal. The government then appoints a new President for Stockholm University.
More information
Panorama: Who will be the next university president?
Rektorsrekryteringsprocess vid Stockholms universitet (In Swedish)