New German University Develops With Rice as Model

New German University Develops With Rice as Model

BY LIA UNRAU
Rice News Staff

Having announced its formal existence nearly one year ago, International University Bremen (IUB), a new private international research university in Bremen, Germany, is corralling its resources and preparing for its first students in fall 2001.

Instrumental in the planning and organization of IUB, Rice University has continued to provide assistance in the implementation of the new university’s plans.

Last summer, Rice University President Malcolm Gillis, a charter member of the IUB board of governors, appointed Tom Hochstettler, associate provost for international relations, and Raymond Wells, professor of mathematics and education, to IUB to help the university establish itself. Part of the process has involved taking ownership of the campus, hiring deans and faculty and establishing collaborations with local and international universities.

In a show of strong support for the new university, in May 1999 a contract between IUB and the Free Hanseatic City-State of Bremen awarded approximately $115 million in start-up funds to the university.

“It’s all tax money being donated to the university, and it’s an extraordinary thing,” Wells said. “This is a major commitment. The people of the city are seeing this as an economical and cultural investment in the future, as if they were building an airport or a new harbor.”

International University Bremen used some of the funds to purchase the campus land and buildings from the military and the federal government. In December, documents were signed between the city-state and IUB stating that on Feb. 1, possession of the property, a former military college, will be transferred from the federal government to IUB. A formal ceremony recognizing the transfer will be held Feb. 7. Provided that the university fulfills its obligations to the city, such as raising additional funds for the university and following through on its plans, the property will remain in IUB’s possession.

In addition to acquiring its campus, the new university is also in the process of hiring two deans—one for the school of science and engineering and another for the school of humanities and social sciences. More than 100 applicants have applied for the positions. A search committee will meet Jan. 14 in Berlin to review a group of the applications, and over the next several months they will work to select and recruit candidates. The search committee includes James Kinsey, the D.R. Bullard-Welch Foundation Professor of Science and former dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, and David Auston, former Rice provost and president of Case Western Reserve University.

Once hired, the deans will begin hiring faculty. There is already a long list of prospective professors—IUB has received some 150 inquiries about faculty positions although none have been advertised.

As part of the initial agreement between Rice and IUB, the universities plan to collaborate through programs such as faculty and student exchanges and joint course offerings.

Through the arrangement, there will be opportunities for Rice professors to spend a year at IUB as visiting professors.

In December, IUB and the state-run University of Bremen agreed on a framework for collaboration, a plan which will serve as a model for the agreement between Rice and IUB.

The universities in Germany agreed to fundamental principles such as maintaining compatibility with the missions of each institution, being economically fair to both and allowing the collaboration to change over time. They agreed to an implementation process overseen by a review committee and features such as joint listing of courses, common activity in research areas and exchange of faculty and students.

Details for the cooperative agreement between Rice and IUB are being examined now, and it is hoped that a framework agreement will be completed this spring, Wells said.

Headed by President Fritz Schaumann, IUB will attract faculty and students from around the world and plans to enroll its first students in 2001, with a target student body size of 1,200 by 2005.

Modeled after Rice, its distinctions will include a highly selective student body, small student-faculty ratio and a residential college system. Courses will be taught in English, and its course credits, degrees and academic programs will be compatible with American, British and emerging European university standards.