It was with great joy and appreciation that TU Dresden honored Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen with an Honorary Senate membership on June 23 for his outstanding service to the university. During his term as Rector from 2010 to 2020, he set groundbreaking milestones in the conceptual and material advancement of the university as a whole. In

large part thanks to his commitment, TU Dresden managed to earn the title of University of Excellence in 2012 – the only university in the new federal states to do so – and to defend this title in 2019. As a source of inspiration and motivation and as someone with an extensive network, Prof. Müller-Steinhagen not only co-founded the DRESDEN-concept research alliance, he also propelled strategic action, improved quality assurance and increased internationalization efforts at TU Dresden, expanded the university’s profile, and worked to promote early-career researchers.

“He skillfully pursued and achieved his vision of a University of Excellence together with our university community. Under his aegis, TUD and the City of Dresden grew into an excellent, international and cosmopolitan science hub,” the current Rector Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger remarked in reference to the merits of her predecessor, who was also the initiator of the February 13 tradition of building a human chain around the city center. For his outstanding achievements, Hans Müller-Steinhagen was named the 2014 University Manager of the Year by the German Centre for Higher Education (CHE), and in 2021, he was honored with the Federal Cross of Merit.

TUD has also awarded the following honors:
Prof. Karl Lenz received the Medal of Honor as a key initiator and source of inspiration for the quality management of studies and teaching at TU Dresden. For over a decade,

the sociologist served as director of the Center for Quality Analysis, for which he developed instruments, strategies and structures since 1995. These are continually developed and refined at the Competence Center for Education and University Research, which he co-founded. “We express our thanks to Prof. Lenz for the outstanding quality management of our degree programs that has led to successful system accreditation and extension. His long-standing dedication to our university is exemplary of a pronounced strategic drive that has borne fruit at TU Dresden and well beyond,” said Rector Staudinger.

The methods developed by Prof. Lenz have had a substantial impact on course management at the university. In 2008, his Dresden alumni study was extended to all state-run universities in Saxony, including universities of applied science. In addition, Karl Lenz served as Vice-Rector Academic Affairs and Vice-Rector for University Development at TU Dresden, helping to shape the university in a profound way over the course of ten years.

Five Badges of Honor were conferred for individual contributions of note.

Jessica Flecks and Barbara Hoffmann received one for their long-standing political commitment to university culture that has stimulated campus life in the areas of university policy, teaching, sustainability, diversity and inclusion as well as student health. Furthermore, the team advocated for a qualitative enrichment of the teacher training degree programs by permanently establishing complementary studies in Theater. Their work is exemplary and sets new benchmarks for comprehensive service.

Prof. Chokri Cherif’s outstanding involvement in textile engineering has earned him this merit. His research initiatives spread across an interdisciplinary network of 12 Faculties and over 400 companies have increased TUD’s international visibility in the long term. He and his team have received 108 distinctions for special contributions to science and have been awarded 250 patents. His institute’s third-party funding has increased sevenfold since his appointment. As the inventor of carbon concrete, he was awarded the Federal President’s Future Prize for Innovation and Technology in 2016.

Prof. Thomas Günther has been honored for his accomplishments surrounding the rehabilitation of the Faculty of Business and Economics after the fall of the Berlin Wall. His teaching portfolio comprises twelve modules belonging to undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Over the last 10 years, he has written around 40 high-quality research publications independently or as a co-author. His outstanding contributions to education and research, and especially his remarkably positive demeanor, make him a true inspiration in his professional environment and TU Dresden at large.

Jan-Malte Jacobsen has received the Badge of Honor for his utmost professional handling of the university elections over the past 3 years – in particular for organizing the logistics of mail-in voting during the pandemic – and thus for his extraordinary dedication to the democratic structures of our university. His affable, diplomatic disposition as Administrative Director of University Policy for the Student Council, Student Representative of the Faculty Board of the Academic Affairs Committee and the Examination Committee, and as Program Coordinator of Process Engineering also speaks in his favor.

Dr. Karin Rühling is one of the minds behind the construction of the Center for Energy Technology. She drafted the fundamental outline for this interdisciplinary lab, which she then implemented during the planning and construction phases. She played a key role in the establishment of the Renewable Energy Systems degree program and was indispensable in the committee for quality assurance in teaching. As a nationally and internationally recognized representative of TU Dresden, she has secured an above-average amount of third-party funding and belongs to many expert committees and standardization bodies.

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