Jul 08, 2020
Dr. Eva-Maria Stange and Prof. Winfried Hacker awarded an Honorary Medal by TU Dresden
Today, 8th July 2020, TU Dresden awarded the Honorary Medal to Eva-Maria Stange, former Minister for Higher Education, Research, and the Arts in Saxony. With this award, the university show appreciation for Dr. Stange's commitment and dedication to TU Dresden's application for the University of Excellence title.
"Eva-Maria Stange was a veritable godsend for both TU Dresden and for the entire science community in Saxony," affirms TUD Rector Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen. The politician was Minister for Higher Education, Research and the Arts in the Free State of Saxony from 2006 to 2009 and from 2014 to 2019.
In particular, in her second term of office, she showed extraordinary commitment to TU Dresden in the Excellence Strategy. She was able, "by continuously and intensively advocating the university, to secure the support for the concept of TU Dresden, which was indispensable for our success", the TUD Senate stated in its justification for awarding the Honorary Medal.
"As the responsible minister, she supported TU Dresden's application for excellence with every possible effort," said Müller-Steinhagen, impressed by Stange's expertise and great commitment. She was also thanked for having always fully supported the fundamental values of science, such as internationality, cosmopolitanism and freedom of research, both as a politician and as a private person, in a time of great political challenges.
Honorary Medal for psychologist Prof. em. Dr. Winfried Hacker
In addition to Eva-Maria Stange, TU Dresden awarded the Honorary Medal to the psychologist Prof. Winfried Hacker for his life's work. Hacker laid important foundations for the current success of psychology in Dresden and - even almost two decades after his retirement - he has continued to research with impressive creativity in the field of activity regulation.
"Prof. Hacker has contributed outstanding services to the transfer of psychological findings into practical fields of application and the implementation of health-promoting working conditions", the Senate of TU Dresden explained the granting of the award. Prof. Hacker's life's work is characterised by the consistent overcoming of the separation between fundamental research and practical application.
The 86-year-old was a professor of work psychology until 1991, then professor of general psychology at TU Dresden until his retirement in 2000. Since 2001, he has headed the "Knowledge - Thinking - Action" working group as a senior research professor.
Rector Prof. Müller-Steinhagen stated: "The high level of recognition that Prof. Hacker enjoys in the scientific community is documented by numerous honours". For his work on activity regulation and work psychology, he was awarded the German Psychology Prize (1996), the Honorary Prize of the European Association for Work and Organizational Psychology (2003), an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Human Sciences at the University of Berne (2005), and admission to the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the European Academy in London.
Since 1999, TU Dresden has been awarding the Honorary Medals in recognition of special achievements furthering the interests of the university. Until now, 28 people, including Eva-Maria Stange and Winfried Hacker, have received this award.