Support association elects new board

On December 11, 2014, a general meeting of the University Support Association was held. The purpose was to present a financial report for the current year. In addition, the term of office for the board of directors was coming to an end.

In 2014, expenditures totaling €14,500 were budgeted. Approximately €4,800 was allocated for the association’s awards, which were presented to graduates for outstanding academic achievement during the 2014 matriculation ceremony. The association fulfills its statutory duties with the help of membership dues and donations from its members. Special thanks are due to the corporate members Vattenfall and Sparkasse Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien for their donations. This year, the university’s Friends and Supporters Association once again provided a Germany Scholarship. The scholarship was awarded starting in the 2014–2015 winter semester. In 2014, the Friends’ Association supported numerous projects, such as student field trips, the “Kinder Academy,” the graduation ceremony, the organization of academic events, and the trinational “Neisse University” network.

Following the report by the chairman of the board, a new board was elected. Both the outgoing and incoming chair is Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Reinhardt Hassa, honorary professor in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Mr. Oliver Bödeker, Chief Financial Officer at Siemens Görlitz, was re-elected as First Vice Chair, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. F. J. Schmidt (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering) was elected as Second Vice Chair. Mr. Tobias Wendt of the SPK Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien will continue to serve as treasurer, as he has in the past, and Ms. M.A. Antje Pfitzner, head of the university’s Public Relations Office, was elected as a member of the board.

Dr.-Ing. Rosemarie Konschak stepped down from the board, as she entered her well-deserved retirement last year. Prof. Hassa thanked her for her constructive and successful collaboration over the past years. During her tenure, Dr. Konschak provided many new ideas and initiatives. For example, she worked to professionalize the Friends’ public image, which led to the creation of a new website, and she played a key role in promoting the Friends’ commitment to “Art in the University Library.” She was also able to provide valuable information on the development of a new teaching award, drawing on her wealth of experience.

The new board member, Ms. Antje Pfitzner, hopes in her role above all to make greater use of the potential synergies between alumni work and the Friends’ Association, as well as to actively contribute to membership recruitment: “The important and good work of the Friends’ Association, as well as the people behind this commitment, can become even more visible. That way, we’ll succeed in inspiring more friends of Zittau/Görlitz University to become active members,” announced the 36-year-old native of Upper Lusatia, who hopes to build on the successful work of her predecessor, Dr.-Ing. Konschak, in this regard.