The University Council
Since 2002, the Lower Saxony University Regulations (NHG) require every publicly administered Higher Education Institution to set up a University Council with a four-year term of office for each member.
The University Council serves as an advisory body to the Presidium and Senate. It submits opinions and recommendations on: economic and development plans, proposals for the establishment of or cooperation with businesses, draft agreements between the MHH and the Ministry of Science and Culture concerning goals and objectives, and proposals by the Senate for appointments or assignments of members of the Presidium.
The University Council consists of seven voting members. One member is elected by the Senate of the MHH, five are appointed by the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture in agreement with the Senate of the MHH, and one is assigned by the Ministry as its representative.
In April 2018, Dr. Josef Lange assumed office as a member of the University Council and was elected new Chairman of the University Council. Since November 2022, State Secretary Prof. Joachim Schachtner has been a member of the University Council as representative of the Ministry. The Senate elected Prof. Frank wacker in Oktober 2022 and the Lower Saxony Ministry confirmed Dr. Martina Wenker (Deputy Chairperson of the University Council) for a another term in office in May 2020. In November 2019, Dr. Philipp Rösler and in May 2020, Astrid Lurati and Prof. Jan Buer were appointed by the ministry as members of the University Council.
The members of the University Council
Josef Lange studied Theology, History and Political Sciences at the universities of Münster and Regensburg. After serving at the University of Bayreuth (1974 – 1979), the office of the German Research Foundation (DFG) (1979 – 1984) and the office of the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) (1984 – 1990) he served as Secretary General of the German Rector’s Conference (HRK) (1990 – 2000).
He was State Secretary for Higher Education and Research in Berlin (2000 – 2001), Head of Division “Coordination of Ministries” in the State Chancellery of Thuringia (2002 – 2003) and State Secretary for Science and Cultural Affairs in Niedersachsen (2003 – 2013). He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Göttingen since 2004, of the Board of Pius-Hospital Oldenburg since 2014 and of the Council of German Orthography since 2017. He is member of Hannover Medical School’s University Council since 13 April 2018. On 18 July 2018 Dr. Josef Lange was elected as the new chairman of the University Council.
Dr. Wenker studied biology and human medicine at the University of Göttingen. After licensing as a physician, she worked in a number of hospitals, first as a resident house physician and then as a senior physician.
She is a qualified specialist for internal medicine, pneumology and bronchial medicine, allergiology, and environmental medicine. Since January 2006 she is president of the „Ärztekammer“ of Lower Saxony and since 2011 vicepresident of the „Bundesärztekammer“. She has been member of Hannover Medical School’s University Council since 1 March 2008. In March 2017 she was elected deputy chair of the university council.
Prof. Dr. Joachim Schachtner has been State Secretary in the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture since November 8, 2022. After studying biology in Regensburg followed by a doctorate in Munich, Professor Schachtner worked at various universities, first as a postdoc and later as a research group leader. From 2010 to 2018 he was Vice President for Information and Quality Management at Philipps University Marburg and from 2019 to 2022 President of Clausthal University of Technology. From 2021 until his appointment as Secretary of State, he was also Chairman of the State University Conference of Lower Saxony.
Jan Buer studied Medicine at the Hannover Medical School (MHH) in Hannover and received his doctoral degree (Dr. med.) in 1996. From 1996 to 1998, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Necker Hospital in Paris. In 1998, he continued his research at the German Research Centre for Biotechnology and the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene at the MHH. In 2003, he was appointed as C3 professor.
Since 2007, he has been holding a W3 professorship of Medical Microbiology at the University Hospital Essen, and since 2012, he has been dean of the Medical Faculty in Essen. Jan Buer is a member of the supervisory board of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and chair of the scientific advisory board of TWINCORE. Since May 2020, he is a member of the university council of the MHH.
Frank Wacker studied medicine at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen. After completing his radiology training at the Benjamin Franklin University Hospital of Freie Universität Berlin, he spent 2 years as a visiting professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. In 2004, he was appointed as C3 Professor at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. From 2008, he was Visiting Professor and Interventional Radiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. From there, he moved to MHH in 2010 as Director of the Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and has also headed the Imaging Unit at the Clinical Research Center Hannover since 2014. He has been a member of the MHH University Council since October 2022.
As combat medic in the German Bundeswehr, Philipp Rösler studied medicine at Hannover Medical School and received his M.D. in 2002. From 2003 to 2009 he served as chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Lower Saxony State assembly and was in 2009 appointed State Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport as well as Deputy Prime Minister of Lower Saxony. From 2009 to 2011 he served as Federal Minister of Health of the Federal Republic of Germany and from 2011 to 2013 as Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Vice-Chancellor and chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) of Germany. From 2014 to 2017 he was a member of the Managing Board of the World Economic Forum, Switzerland, and from 2017 to 2019 CEO of the Hainan Cihang Charity Foundation in New York. Since 2019 he is multi advisory board member e.g. Siemens Healthineers, Fortum, Bertelsmann Foundation and from 26 November 2019 member of the Hannover Medical School’s University Council.
Astrid Lurati is Chief Financial and Infrastructure Officer at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. From May 2016 until December 2019, she served as Hospital Director and member of the Executive Board of Charité. Mrs. Lurati studied Business Economics with a degree in Business Administration. Following this, she received a Master of Pharmaceutical Medicine from the University of Witten/Herdecke in 1998.
After her apprenticeship in Hotel Business Management and after completion of her studies, Mrs. Lurati was working for some time within the banking sector, e.g. in the Department of Corporate Finance and Equity Research, advising the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. From 1997, she was employed at the Bayer AG, Leverkusen, where she headed the Department of Strategic Planning, later moving to the Department of Investor Relations. In 2003, Mrs. Lurati started working at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), first as Department Business Director, later she promoted to the position of Head of Hospital Financing. Subsequently in 2007, she became Deputy Commercial Director of the UKE.
