Sascha Spoun almost became president of the University of Göttingen. But the appointment became a disaster for everyone involved. First elected with a large majority, then violently hostile to a minority of professors who protested against an incorrect selection process, Spoun finally gave up the post. He remained president at the Leuphana University in Lüneburg - but soon there was new trouble waiting for him.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Spoun, what are your feelings about your summer in Göttingen?
Sascha Spoun: The whole story seems very far away to me. But I remember particularly vividly my joy at the good election result and many very good discussions before and after the election to prepare for taking office. It is astonishing for me how a small group of professors could question the content of a democratically legitimate decision-making and election process.
SPIEGEL: But there were procedural errors. The search committee did not fully document individual selection steps. In your declaration of withdrawal, you yourself spoke of "considerable doubts about legal conformity". In addition, some professors complained in a protest note that you were the only candidate proposed and were therefore confronted. Is Göttingen a defeat for you?
Spoun: That's not how I feel about Göttingen summer. Given the procedural difficulties, it was important to me to make a clear decision. I did that and it paid off. Many scientists in Göttingen, but above all in Lüneburg and throughout Germany showed me their appreciation, reported by email, SMS, called or spoke to me personally.
SPIEGEL: Her supporters withdrew in public. Did that disappoint you?
Spoun: In universities, critics like to be loud. Those who agree or support do not usually formulate this publicly, but rather personally and confidentially. It was the same in this case. I took it as it was.
SPIEGEL: What can universities learn from the Göttingen election debacle?
Spoun: Conflicts are normal in universities. However, it is very important that they are not carried out at the expense of individual people during or after a selection process. They should be worked on beforehand. Universities must be clear about their specific goals, their ambitions and their particularities. Only then can the tasks be described and the qualifications that the desired leadership personality should have.
This is how the election disaster in Göttingen went
The tender
At the beginning of 2019, the University of Göttingen will advertise the presidential position. The six-member search committee heads Wilhelm Krull. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees works full-time as Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation. In early summer, the Finding Committee recommends Sascha Spoun as the only candidate for election.
The election - and the protest
On June 20, Spoun is elected with a large majority in the Senate to succeed Ulrike Beisiegel, who will step down from the presidency early in September. Shortly after the election, some professors mobilize to resist. They publish a protest note and demand, among other things, that Krull, the chairman of the foundation, resign.
Going to court
In August, a competition complaint is filed with the Göttingen administrative court. The university should disclose the relevant documents for judicial review of the selection process. This is not possible for her.
The resignation
Sascha Spoun announced his resignation on August 21. A day later, Wilhelm Krull resigned from the University of Göttingen and justified the move with the "failed appointment of Mr. Spoun due to formal law reasons".
In mid-September, the Senate elected the former Max Planck researcher and Leibniz Prize winner Reinhard Jahn as interim president. He takes office on December 1.
SPIEGEL: Is that realistic?
Spoun: The University of Lüneburg followed exactly this order before electing me as president in 2005.
SPIEGEL: When your term in Lüneburg was extended for the third time at the beginning of the year, there was certainly criticism. The job had not been advertised.
Spoun: The criticism focused on the process. The Lower Saxony Higher Education Act offers the possibility that a university president can be re-elected without an advertisement and is often used. All four status groups in the Senate had discussed this and agreed to make use of it.
SPIEGEL: What do you think about the election of praesidia?
Spoun: In Germany, universities are very much shaped by academic self-government, which is carried out in various committees. The respective tasks are delegated to them. Universities work according to this principle. The primary election of the presidents would not fit into this culture.
SPIEGEL: Was it resented in Lüneburg that you wanted to move to Göttingen in the meantime and then stayed when it didn't fit there?
Spoun: In Lüneburg, I have great appreciation for the work we have done over the past 13 years. For example, we are now picking up exactly the ideas that were developed in the period when it was thought that I would go to Göttingen.
SPIEGEL: The new central building designed by star architect Daniel Libeskind was intended to advance the university as a whole. Now there was a cost explosion from originally 57 to 109.3 million euros. Media reports state that the university has to bear additional costs itself and close a gap of more than 20 million euros. Where should the money come from?
Spoun: We ourselves have agreed to close the remaining financing gap on our own without this having to do with research and teaching. This is made possible by increased income expectations from the sale of properties and the timely creation of reserves from the investment budget.
SPIEGEL: There are voices who are not happy about your stay in Lüneburg today. You are controversial with your reform course. As a leader, you seem to be polarizing.
Spoun: If I had to describe myself, I would describe myself as an academic entrepreneur who concretely shapes the future of his university together with its members, does not simply say yes to everything and also makes unpleasant decisions. This is obviously not so common and may surprise some. For me, a university has a great responsibility for society. She is accountable to her.