Barbara Bader becomes Rector of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

After a multi-stage selection process, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Council has elected Prof. Dr. Barbara Bader as the new Rector of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU). Born in Bern, she has many years of strategic and operational management experience in the Swiss and German university environment. From her previous functions as professor, head of study programs and head of institutes, the established university manager can also draw on know-how and extensive experience in teaching and research in the context of universities of applied sciences.

From Stuttgart to Lucerne

Barbara Bader's career began with the completion of her primary and secondary teaching diplomas. In 2002 she moved to England and obtained her doctorate in art history at Oxford University. Upon her return to Switzerland, she took on the role of Head of Institute at the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK and after a few years moved to the Bern University of Applied Sciences, where she was Head of the Master's and Bachelor's programs in Art Education. In 2013, she received an appointment as Professor of Art Didactics and Educational Sciences at the State Academy of Fine Arts (ABK) Stuttgart and was also appointed to the university council there shortly thereafter. Since 2017, Barbara Bader has been rector of the ABK Stuttgart, which unites four faculties (architecture, design, art, art sciences-restoration) under one roof.

Barbara Bader takes over on December 1, 2022

As of December 1, 2022, she will now take over as head of HSLU, replacing Markus Hodel, who headed the university for 16 years. "We are very pleased to have Barbara Bader, an integrative and communicative leader, as our
We are pleased to have found a successor who combines profound experience in higher education management with a broad network at national and international level," says Anton Lauber, President of the FH Council. Sylvia Egli von Matt, Vice President of the FH Council and also member of the selection committee, emphasises: "The demands on universities with regard to knowledge and technology transfer have increased. The links with business, politics, culture and society are closer than ever before. We are convinced that Barbara Bader will give new impetus to strategic topics such as social and digital transformation, sustainability and diversity, and will further develop our university and Lucerne as a university center in a high-quality and ambitious manner."

Source: Hochschule Lucerne