The two WU University Board members nominated by the Senate, Stephan Koren and Christine Dornaus, and the two members nominated by the federal government, Cattina Leitner and Barbara Kolm, unanimously appointed Valentin Stalf as the fifth member during the meeting of the new University Board on April 25, 2018. Cattina Leitner was elected as the new Chair of the Board, and Stephan Koren will continue to act as Deputy Chair.

In addition to lawyer Cattina Leitner (DORDA Attorneys at Law), who has extensive experience as the former Chair of the University Board of the Medical University of Graz, WU’s University Board now consists of the CEO of immigon portfolioabbau AG, Stephan Koren, who has been a member of the board since 2013, Christine Dornaus, Board Director at Wiener Städtische Versicherungs AG Vienna Insurance Group, Barbara Kolm, President of the Friedrich August von Hayek Institute and Director of the Austrian Economics Center, and Valentin Stalf, a Vienna native currently residing in Berlin, co-founder and CEO of the mobile Bank N26.

Cattina Leitner was unanimously selected as the Chair of the five-member panel, and Stephan Koren remains Deputy Chair.

The responsibilities of the University Board

For universities, the University Board fulfills a similar function to companies’ supervisory boards. The members of the University Board may not be affiliated with the university and may not be employed by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. Its most important responsibilities include selecting the rector from a shortlist compiled by the Senate, appointing vice-rectors nominated by the rector, approving the Strategic Plan, the Organizational Structure Plan, and the draft of the Performance Agreement made with the federal ministry, as well as signing off the budget proposed by the university. The University Board has a legislative period of five years.