News from the faculty board

Professor in Freshwater Ecology

The board decided to recruit a freshwater ecology professor at the Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, subject to the Vice-Chancellor’s approval. Lars Sonesten will chair the recruitment committee.

Phasing out of Subject Areas

The board decided to phase out the following three subject areas:

• Statistics, especially biometrics, at the Department of Energy and Technology
• Microbial Metabolism at the Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology
• Broadleaf Forest Cultivation, especially for energy purposes, at the Department of Crop Production Ecology

This decision aligns with the directive made by the faculty board in February of this year, where it was also decided that all subject areas should be evaluated when the responsible professor leaves, such as upon retirement.

New Subject Area

With the commencement of a new professor in plant ecology on January 1st next year, the subject area of ecological environmental management at the Department of Ecology will be phased out. The board decided at the same time to establish the subject area of plant ecology at the same institution and from the same date, January 1st. This decision was made because the former subject area professor, Jan Bengtsson, has now retired, and the new professor, Giulia Vico, will begin her position on January 1, 2024.

Subject Area Structural Molecular Biology

In connection with the retirement of the current professor of structural molecular biology, Dean Torleif Härd, on January 1, 2025, the subject area of structural molecular biology at the Department of Molecular Sciences will be phased out. The Faculty Board will consider a proposal at an upcoming meeting to invest in preserving expertise and infrastructure within the subject area.

Dismantling of Clusters

In 2006, the faculty board decided to divide the faculty into several clusters, serving a crucial role in the planning of new campus buildings and the subsequent relocation of the faculty's institutions. Recently, the concept of clusters has only been used in the context of recruiting members for the faculty's nominating committee. It may still be appropriate to ensure the coverage of the faculty's various scientific areas in the nominating committee, but this can be achieved without clusters. Consequently, the board decided to repeal the earlier decision to divide the faculty's institutions into clusters.