Faculty of Art and Design at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar to become a college of fine arts of the German federal state of Thuringia as of 1 April 2016
Statement of the Rectorate: The merger of all of the artistic and design subjects at the university was agreed upon by all of the committees, and finally by the University Senate on 2 December 2015. The new Faculty of Art and Design will operate as of 1 April 2016 under the name »Kunsthochschule des Freistaats Thüringen« (College of Fine Art of the Free State of Thuringia), in accordance with the agreements with the responsible ministry.
To prepare for the restructuring process and to make the best use of time between the decision of the Senate in December 2015 and the entering into effect of the new faculty structure, a founding commission started work in January 2016 on the necessary organisational adjustments and assignment of the professorships. To facilitate this process, the rectorate has decided on a participative goal-setting procedure involving representatives of the student body, academic and teaching staff, as well as the deans and administration heads. The faculties themselves were responsible for specific personnel appointments. In its constitutional meeting, the founding commission selected the dean of the current Faculty of Art and Design, Prof. Wolfgang Sattler as its chairman.
With this restructuring, the University Directorate and the faculty committees are following a recommendation of the Academic Commission of Lower Saxony, which is also framed in the university development plan of the state of Thuringia and further developed through the expanded structural commission. For the discipline of media art/media design, which overlaps with the faculty of media, a temporary safety net was established using general funds designed to support the restructuring and redefining of the profile in the new faculty.
The examination regulations in force at the time of registration will still apply to students in programmes that have been merged into the new faculty.
The rectorate thanks all those who have taken part and have made the restructuring process possible, supported it, and made it practicable. We can be confident that this step will strengthen the artistic-design disciplines of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and will contribute to bringing its profile into sharper focus.
Further information will soon be made available on the university intranet on the rectorate website, and starting in April 2016, the website of the new Faculty of Art and Design.