Foundation Board

The Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences University is, as one of the first universities of applied sciences nationwide since 2003, a corporation under public law maintained by the Stiftung ‘Fachhochschule Osnabrück’ whose organs are the University Steering Committee and the Foundation Board. Thus, the State of Lower Saxony transferred former State tasks to the Foundation and granted a greater autonomy and self-responsibility to the university.

Tasks of the University Steering Committee in accordance with the Niedersächsisches Hochschulgesetz [Lower Saxony University Regulation] (NHG):

The Foundation Board advises the university, decides on affairs of the Foundation of fundamental importance and monitors the activities of the University Steering Committee. It specifically has the following tasks:

• Nomination, appointment or and dismissal of the members of the University Steering Committee of the university,
• Decision on changes and encumbrances to the basic assets as well as the taking out of loans,
• Approval of the development planning of the university and the budget of the Foundation,
• Receipt of the accountability report of the University Steering Committee,
• Determination of the annual financial statement as well as approval of the University Steering Committee of the Foundation,
• Consent for the founding of companies or participation in companies by the Foundation,
• Legal supervision of the university,
• Decision on amendments to the statutes of the Foundation, as well as adopting, amending and repealing other statutes of the Foundation.

The Foundation Board can take a position on the drafts of target agreements which are to be concluded with the competent ministry.

Members in accordance with the Niedersächsisches Hochschulgesetz [Lower Saxony University Regulation] (NHG):

The Foundation Board consists of seven members, of which at least three should be women. Members are

1. five people familiar with higher education, but not affiliated with the university primarily from the fields of Business, Science, Culture or other socially relevant areas, which are appointed in agreement with the Academic Senate of the university by the competent ministry and can be dismissed for cause by the competent ministry.
2. a member of the university who is elected by the university Academic Senate as well as
3. a representative of the competent ministry.

The members of the University Steering Committee, a representative of the student body, the equal opportunities officer and a member of the Staff Council normally attend the meetings of the Foundation Board in an advisory capacity.

Chairperson of the Foundation Board

Professor Dr. Christa Cremer-Renz, Lüneburg, studied education, sociology, political science, psychology and philosophy in Cologne, Dortmund and Bielefeld. She completed her doctorate in 1974 at the then Ruhr University of Education and was appointed professor at the University of Applied Sciences Northeast Lower Saxony in Lüneburg in 1982. Here she was Vice-Rector from 1995 to 1996 and President of the University of Applied Sciences from 1996 to 2004. In 2005 and 2006 she was interim president of Leuphana University of Lüneburg, which emerged from the merger of the University of Applied Sciences of Northeast Lower Saxony and the University of Lüneburg. From 2006 to 2010, Cremer-Renz taught as a professor at Leuphana University in the Faculty of Education. Furthermore, she was a member of the editorial team of the journal "Das Hochschulwesen" until 2019.
 

Other members of the Foundation Board

Professorin Dr. rer. pol. Nicole Böhmer is the representative of the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences on the Foundation Council. Prior to her appointment, she worked in the Human Resources Department of the Oldenburgische Landesbank AG from 1999 to 2006. She studied economics and business education at the University of Oldenburg and completed her doctorate on human resources management there in 2005.
Since September 2006, she has been a professor of business administration with a special focus on human resources management at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. Ms Böhmer was the Equal Opportunities Officer of the Faculty of Business Management and Social Sciences from 2015 to 2018 and has been a member of the University Senate since March 2019. In research and teaching, her focus is on international human resource management, career and talent management, and case study didactics.

Undersecretary Birgit Clamor, Hanover, is the representative of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture (MWK) on the Foundation Board. She heads the universities of applied sciences - universities of cooperative education specialist unit in the MWK.

Professor Dr. Swetlana Franken, Bielefeld, studied Business Management and Engineering in Russia. After receiving her Ph.D. in Business Management in the area of Innovation Management, she worked as a Professor of Management and Organization at the State Technical University in Nizhny Novgorod. She was also active as a management consultant for various international companies, in particular in the areas of business management, innovation management and intercultural communication. Since March 2008, she has worked as a Professor of Business Administration, in particular, Human Resources at the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences.

Sabine Stöhr, Osnabrück, is Managing Director and Deputy General Manager of the Industrial Employers' Association Osnabrück - Emsland - Grafschaft Bentheim (IAV). She is responsible for public relations and educational work at IAV. IAV represents over 460 companies with approximately 122,000 employees in the region. The topics of education, vocational orientation, shortage of skilled workers and, above all, communication with various company stakeholder and interest groups are also at the centre of Sabine Stöhr's professional volunteer work. For example, she is rotating chairperson of the Administrative Committee of the Nordhorn Employment Agency, chairperson of the Advisory Board of MaßArbeit (the job centre of the Osnabrück district), deputy member of the State Committee for Vocational Education and Training at the Lower Saxony State Government and member of the Advisory Board of the Sponsoring Society of the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. Sabine Stöhr is also involved as a member of the advisory board of the Student Research Centre Osnabrück.

Dr. Andreas Mainka, Lingen (Ems), has been the Managing Director of the construction company August Mainka GmbH & Co. in Lingen since 1996. After studying Business Administration at the University of Bayreuth and the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln, Nebraska (United States), he received his doctorate at the Department of Economics at the University of Bayreuth in the field of Economic Theory. From 1994 to 1996, he worked as commercial project manager in the international business of a construction company.

Professor Dr. Joachim Metzner, Cologne, studied philosophy, Germanistics and theology at the Universities of Frankfurt am Main and Tübingen. He graduated in 1975 as Dr. phil. at the University of Tübingen. Since 1978, he has been a Professor of Linguistics and Language Pedagogy at the University of Applied Sciences Cologne. He was Dean, Prorector and Rector and President of the University of Applied Sciences from 1989 until 2012. Mr. Metzner was Vice President of the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz [university rector's conference] (HRK) for IT infrastructure and information supply.