The 34 members of the university election meeting on Thursday, April 20, 2023, voted for Svenja Stepper as the new chancellor of Fachhochschule Dortmund without a dissenting vote.
"I appreciate the trust that the members of the electoral assembly have placed in me with this clear result," affirmed Svenja Stepper. "I am very much looking forward to the task, both to the substantive challenge and to working with the people of this university."
"As Chancellor, Ms Stepper will be able to make a significant contribution to the further development of Fachhochschule Dortmund and will be an excellent point of contact for both academia and administration," said Chairman Guido Baranowski on behalf of the election committee.
Svenja Stepper will succeed Jochen Drescher on July 1, 2023. The 33-year-old native of Hildesheim has a wealth of experience in administration. Since 2012, she has held several management positions in the Protestant church districts of Düsseldorf, Duisburg and Dinslaken. She has been Head of Administration of the Duisburg church district since 2018.
She holds a degree in public administration with a master's degree in human resources development and a further master's degree in business administration and management, both from the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. During her studies, she already attended the management seminar "Managing Administration" at the Leadership Academy for Church and Diaconia, and in the course of her career she acquired further professional and advanced training qualifications in this field.
The university management of Fachhochschule Dortmund advertised the position in December 2022 and January 2023. Following a multi-stage application process, the search committee chaired by University Council member Jutta Reiter selected Svenja Stepper as the most suitable candidate from the final candidates and recommended her to the University Election Assembly for the position of Chancellor.