Frank Dievernich, President of the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, is taking on a new role: on June 30, he will retire from university service and will become Chairman of the Board of the Frankfurt Polytechnic Society on October 1.
He takes over this office from Roland Kaehlbrandt, who had headed the foundation since 2008.
After his departure, Dievernich's official business at the university will be managed by Vice President René Thiele.
The election of a new president is planned for this summer.
Ayse Asar (Die Grünen), State Secretary in the Hessian Ministry of Science, gave Dievernich "great recognition" for his performance as President.
She called the move to the Polytechnic Foundation regrettable, but understandable in view of his commitment to the transfer of knowledge to society.
The 52-year-old Dievernich has been in charge of the former technical college for eight years.
Dievernich said that one focus of his office was on sharpening the strategic profile of the university.
"I always wanted to have a political influence." For him, it was a central goal to anchor Frankfurt University as a "distinctive and visible educational institution with its social responsibility in Frankfurt and to position it with its offers for future-oriented urban development." Now he is "proud to soon be able to head one of the largest German foundations".
He wants to work even more in Frankfurt and for Frankfurt, "a city in which I am deeply rooted".
In the 2014 presidential election, Dievernich clearly prevailed as an external candidate against incumbent Detlev Buchholz.
In 2019, the university senate also confirmed him in office with a clear majority, which he could have held until 2026.
Dievernich stood for dialogue with the city society and tried to create a modern management culture within the university, but also showed a willingness to deal with conflict at times.
The 68-year-old Kaehlbrandt has been Chairman of the Board of the Polytechnic Society Foundation since 2008, having previously been a member of the newly founded organization since 2006.
Under him, the foundation had become an "innovative and powerful player in Frankfurt's civil society," said Volker Mosbrugger, Chairman of the Foundation Council, on Monday.
"As a creative mind, he has given the polytechnic tradition of education and responsibility a new face." With Dievernich, on the other hand, an experienced, highly experienced and committed education and science manager has been won as Kaehlbrandt's successor.
With a clever hand, he will lead the foundation's project work to the next generation.