News from the NJ Faculty Board meeting, 19–20 April

New docents

The faculty board has decided to appoint the following colleagues docents:

• Shon Ferguson in economics
• Efthymia Kyriakopoulou in economics
• Stefanie Rosa in biology, specialising in genetics
• Karin Eklöf in environmental assessment

Strategic investment in co-funding of doctoral students, continued recruitment of teachers

After the 2017 strategic investment in co-funding of doctoral students and postdocs, which also involved the departments using equity, the faculty has had a considerable (planned) negative capital at the central level. This is now changing into a surplus, enabling us to make various new investments.

In dialogue with the departments, and as per the faculty strategy, we have identified co-funding doctoral students as an important target for such an investment.

The faculty board has consequently decided to co-fund externally funded students admitted to doctoral studies and employed as doctoral students at the faculty during the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2026. The co-funding will be paid to the departments concerned. In addition, the board plans to decide, during the current period of office, to recruit around four senior lecturers and/or associate senior lecturers annually, funded through direct government funding in line with the faculty’s principles. Looking at the 2023 allocation of funds, the board also decided to increase the amount of direct government resources allocated to the faculty’s subject fields by 2 per cent in addition to the price and salary increase that will apply.

Board for the Appointment of Senior Environmental Assessment Specialists (NSM) – members and personal deputies

The faculty board decided to propose to the vice-chancellor to appoint Richard Johnson, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, and Åsa Berggren, Department of Ecology, NJ Faculty representatives on the Board for the Appointment of Senior Environmental Assessment Specialists (NSM) (only in Swedish) for the period 1 July 2022 until further notice, or 30 June 2025 the latest. The faculty board also decided to propose to the vice-chancellor to appoint Tord Snäll, Swedish Species Information Centre, as personal deputy for Richard Johnson and Stina Drakare, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, as personal deputy for Åsa Berggren, for the same period.

Board for the Appointment of Distinguished University Teachers (Nex) – members and personal deputies

The faculty board decided to propose to the vice-chancellor to appoint Gulaim Seisenbaeva, professor, Department of Molecular Sciences, the NJ Faculty representative on the Board for the Appointment of Distinguished University Teachers (Nex) for the period 1 July 2022 until further notice, or 30 June 2025 the latest, and to appoint Per-Anders Langendahl, senior lecturer, Department of Economics, as her personal deputy.

Subject field responsibility when professors retire

The Employment Protection Act states that an employee is entitled to remain in employment up to the end of the month when they attain the age of 68. As of 1 January 2023, this will be raised to 69 years. This complicates the faculty management’s strategic planning for skills provision. Consequently, the faculty board has decided that as of 1 January 2023, responsibility for a subject field will cease to apply as of the month following the month when a head of subject attains the age that, according to Section 32 a of the Employment Protection Act, allows them to remain in employment (currently 68 years). The absence of a head of subject will be treated the same as absence due to other reasons when it comes to the assignment and the allocation of direct government funding for the subject field in question. When a head of subject leaves employment, or for other reasons cannot uphold this responsibility, the faculty board is responsible for initiating a reassessment of the subject field.

Recruitments

The faculty board has decided:

• to announce a vacancy for a senior lecturer in crop production science specialising in feed crops at the Department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden;
• to cancel the recruitment of a senior lecturer in business administration specialising in financial management and integrated business planning;
• to cancel the recruitment of a professor of ecology;
• to approve the recruitment of an adjunct senior lecturer at the Department of Aquatic Resources.