TU Dresden is mourning the loss of one of its most distinguished professors, one whose commitment to social issues extended far beyond the walls of this university. The news came as a shock.

The internationally renowned media and communication researcher Professor Wolfgang Donsbach of TU Dresden died unexpectedly on Sunday, July 26, 2015 and has been taken away from us far too early.

Prof. Wolfgang Donsbach was the founding director of the Institute of Media and Communication which was established in 1993, an institute which he persistently expanded and led for almost two decades. It is largely thanks to him that the institute has such an excellent reputation and enjoys visibility far beyond Dresden. His work has contributed to TU Dresden’s reputation of excellence and has shaped a generation of students, it is not without reason that the term “Donsbach-Schüler” is familiar to those in the field of German media and communication studies.

In both academia and the public sphere, Wolfgang Donsbach’s prominence is matched by few others. He was president of the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) and the International Communication Association (ICA). He received the Helen Diner Award of the WAPOR for his outstanding achievements in the area of public opinion research and the David Swanson Award of the Political Communication Division of the ICA for his work in political communications research. He had been a fellow in the International Communication Association since 2010. In addition to many other publications, he was the editor of a twelve volume International Encyclopedia of Communication (Blackwell-Wiley 2008), the Concise Encyclopedia of Communication (Wiley 2015) and the Handbook of Public Opinion Research (Sage 2008).

Wolfgang Donsbach was committed to the task of bridging academic disciplines like the humanities, natural sciences and engineering sciences. Exemplary of this are his organization and guidance of the Boysen research training groups together with Professor Antonio Hurtado, Director of the Institute of Power Engineering.

His activities as a media and communication researcher in the area of journalism are also of note  – both as a journalist with his own interview show on DRESDENEINS.TV and as a director of studies for the DNN-Barometer that has been published for several years.

Wolfgang Donsbach’s status as a committed citizen of the city of Dresden also manifested itself in many ways. He often took a critical stance publicly towards issues of relevance within the city and beyond. His widely visible commitment to democracy and internationality was shown by his work as chairman of the International School in Dresden and in the recent past especially by his advocacy against right-wing extremist thought and in favor of a culture that is both welcoming and internationally minded.

Wolfgang Donsbach became professor emeritus in March of this year. He had since been a Senior Professor at TU Dresden. He is survived by his wife and son.

More information for journalists:
Head of the Institute of Media and Communication
Prof. Lutz M. Hagen
Tel – 0351 463-33412 or 0179 6630276