News from the faculty board 23 April

Mixed Decisions

Håkan Berglund at SLU Swedish Species Information Centre was appointed as a member of the foma committee, succeeding Lena Tranvik, who is retiring this summer.

Anders Larsolle was appointed as the chairperson of the faculty’s scholarship committee, following the retirement of Anna Strålenhielm.

Carl-Johan Lagerkvist has been designated as the promoter, and Daniel Hofius as the deputy promoter for the 2024 graduation ceremony.

The faculty board decided to initiate the recruitment process for a professor in business administration, specializing in entrepreneurship and innovation, at the Department of Economics.

The board also decided to start the recruitment process for a professor in organic chemistry at the Department of Molecular Sciences.

Sara Hallin was appointed as a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s recruitment group, and Sara Bergek as the personal substitute for Sara Hallin. The current Vice-Chancellor, Maria Knutson Wedel, will conclude her first term on June 30 next year. The University Board has announced its intention to establish a joint recruitment group. The group’s primary task will be to explore the conditions for proposing a reappointment to the government.

Competence Supply

The faculty board discussed a compilation of the most prioritized academic recruitment positions across the faculty’s departments. These recommendations were put forth by the departments during the operational dialogues held by the faculty leadership with all departments in the spring of 2024. The ambition is for the faculty board to establish a prioritization list for ongoing work related to competence supply.

Program for Agricultural Field Research

A program for agricultural field research was presented and discussed. The proposal has been developed under the leadership of Vice Dean Göran Bergkvist and aims to strengthen the infrastructure for applied agricultural research. The program suggests the inclusion of three field research stations (Lanna, Röbäcksdalen and Lövsta), as well as SLU Long-Term Research and SLU Fältforsk. A decision on this matter will be made before the mid-year shift in 2024.

New Guidelines for Appointing the Nomination Committee

The board decided on revised guidelines for appointing the NJ Faculty’s nomination committee. This decision follows SLU’s board resolution from last December. The nomination committee will take office on May 1st to begin working on proposing a new faculty board to be elected this autumn. The faculties collaborate with the Internal Communication unit at the Communications Department to communicate the details and timelines of the election. Visit the website here for more information https://internt.slu.se/en/organisation--styrning/election-to-the-faculty-boards-2024/ . The pages will be updated continuously.

NJ’s Nomination Committee Appointed

The faculty board decided to appoint the following members and personal substitutes (italicized) to the new nomination committee:

• Sara Bergek, Chair (Aquatic Resources) – Anna Schnürer (Molecular Sciences)
• Anders Hafrén, Vice Chair (Plant Biology) – Marcos Lana (Plant Production Ecology)
• Jesper Larsson (Urban and Rural Development) – Björn Lindahl (Soil and Environment)
• Göran Hartman (Ecology) – Pernilla Tidåker (Energy and Technology)
• Pia Nilsson (Economics) – Wenche Eide (SLU Swedish Species Information Centre)
• Karin Hamnér (Soil and Environment) – Anna Berlin (Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology)
• Willem Goedkoop (Aquatic Sciences and Assessment) – Lovisa Nilsson (Ecology)

Additionally, Sluss will appoint one member and one personal substitute.

Feedback on the Educational Offering for 2025–2026

As per the board’s directive, the faculty boards are required to provide input on the program boards’(UN) proposals regarding the educational offerings at SLU. In preparation for the decision on the program offerings for the academic year 2025/2026, the education board sought feedback from both program boards and faculty boards.

The NJ Program Board (PN-NJ) has endorsed the education board’s proposal, supporting the initiation of the Master’s program in Veterinary Nursing and the gradual phasing out of the program in Forestry with Multiple Goals. The faculty board aligns with the program board’s perspective.

Changes to the Agronomy Programs

The education board (UN) is implementing structural changes to the agronomy programs, primarily involving a return to five-year programs starting from the year 2025/2026. PN-NJ has now submitted proposed education plans to the faculty board, addressing these changes. The faculty board has approved the proposed education plans.

Allocation Model for Undergraduate education

The education board is currently developing a partially new model for allocating funds to undergraduate and advanced level education. This model includes significant changes, such as transitioning to three-year funding periods to facilitate planning and eliminating deductions (for potential underperformance). PN-NJ has expressed overall positive views on the proposed model, and the faculty board supports PN-NJ’s statement.

New Subject Area in Mathematics and Statistics

The faculty board has decided to establish the subject area of Mathematics and Statistics within the Department of Energy and Technology, effective from November 1, 2024. The mission of this subject area is to conduct consultative activities within SLU and provide teaching. Notably, the subject area will not have a professor.

New Subject Area in Environmental Engineering

The board has decided to introduce the subject area of Environmental Engineering (Kretsloppsteknik) within the Department of Energy and Technology, starting from November 1st this year. Professor Björn Vinnerås will be responsible for this subject area. Previously, the Environmental Engineering group was part of the Agricultural Engineering subject area, which had grown to include over 60 individuals. Recognizing the continuous growth and significance of environmental engineering for NJ and other faculties at SLU, NJ is now establishing a long-term stable foundation for the subject’s ongoing development, while also ensuring a more reasonable size for the agricultural engineering subject area.

New Docents at NJ

Following the spring docent lectures, the faculty board appointed the following docents:

• Anna Kristina Edenbrandt in the field of economics
• Anna-Karin Dahlberg in the field of environmental chemistry
• Cristián Alarcon in the field of rural development
• Jennifer Anderson in the field of biology
• Nadia Maaroufi in the field of soil science with a focus on soil biology
• Noémi Gonda in the field of rural development
• Saeid Karkehabadi in the field of food science