University President Prof. Dr Andreas Marx during his speech at the investiture ceremony.

Ceremonial investiture at the University of Jena

Professor Andreas Marx was inaugurated into the office of President on 28 October 2024

University President Prof. Dr Andreas Marx during his speech at the investiture ceremony.

Image: Jürgen Scheere (University of Jena)

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Published: 29 October 2024, 8:00 | By: Ute Schönfelder

Prof. Dr Andreas Marx was inaugurated as the new President of Friedrich Schiller University Jena with a formal ceremony on 28 October 2024. The investiture took place in the presence of the Thuringian Minister of Science Wolfgang Tiefensee, the Lord Mayor of the City of Jena Dr Thomas Nitzsche and numerous invited guests from academia, politics and society as well as the university community.

The tradition of the ceremonial "investiture" at the University of Jena dates back to the 16th century. The term comes from Latin and literally translates as "clothing". And so the new President has now not only officially taken over the duties of the university management – he was also "clothed" accordingly during the ceremony: with a rector's coat, barrette and chain of office.

The University as a location factor for Jena and Thuringia

"It is a special honour and pleasure for me to stand before you today as President of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Taking on this task fills me with great gratitude and also with humility," said Prof. Marx in his speech. He recognized the University and Jena as a "shining beacon – both nationally and internationally." His greatest motivation for moving to Jena was the desire to "advance this outstanding university location together with all members of the University and to further develop its excellence."

In addition to excellent research and outstanding study conditions, the University makes a significant contribution to the sustainable development of the state of Thuringia through the acquisition of third-party funding and value creation, the recruitment of researchers and students, innovation and transfer services, the new President continued. "As a recent study on the regional economic importance of higher education institutions in Thuringia shows, every euro that the Free State invests in their basic funding generates a regional added value effect of 3.64 euros." For Friedrich Schiller University, this means that around 280 million euros in basic funding generates more than 1 billion euros.

Prof. Dr Wolfgang Marquardt, Chairman of the University Council, Prof. Dr Andreas Marx, President of the University of Jena and Wolfgang Tiefensee, Thuringian Minister for Economic Affairs, Science and Digital Society (from left to right).
Image: Jürgen Scheere (University of Jena)

Developing and shaping the University

In his welcoming address, Prof. Dr Wolfgang Marquardt, Chairman of the University Council, emphasized the expectations that the University has of its new President: to provide new impetus and set new trends. The aim is to further develop the University with a clever mix of the tried and tested and the new, thereby increasing its reputation and visibility in academia and beyond. "Thank you for accepting this task with great commitment."

"Professor Marx is both a highly decorated scientist and a successful science manager," said Science Minister Tiefensee. With his successes as a researcher and not least with his experience with the federal government's Excellence Strategy, Marx can make a significant contribution to the profiling and further development of the University of Jena. "Our goal remains to firmly establish Jena at the forefront of the German higher education landscape," said Tiefensee. "And who better to achieve this goal than someone who embodies excellence himself." The state will not neglect to support its only university covering all disciplines in the coming years, he assured. In addition to the "University of Excellence project", the aim is also to raise the University's profile, promote interdisciplinarity and internationalization, intensify the transfer between the University, research institutions and industry and also adapt the University's organizational and structural set-up to the changed framework conditions.

Jena's Lord Mayor Dr Thomas Nitzsche and Interim President Prof. Dr Georg Pohnert also welcomed the new President to the University and the city of Jena.

Andreas Marx took over as President of the University of Jena in August 2024 after the University Assembly elected him to the office on 9 April. He succeeded Prof. Dr Walter Rosenthal.