Doctorarse con los dientes

“En España en este siglo no hay quien no sepa que se ha de morir de hambre como se entregue a las ciencias.”

 

Por desgracia, esta cita de José Cadalso (1741-1782), el autor de la novela epistolar Cartas Marruecas, permanece completamente vigente en la actualidad. Ya escribí con anterioridad sobre el inconsciente desmantelamiento de la ciencia española causado por medidas políticas poco responsables, y la situación por desgracia no ha mejorado (a ver si el nuevo ministro nos da una sorpresa). Esta vez quiero mencionar algo mucho más concreto, un hecho revelador que resulta asombroso cuando se contempla, como lo hago yo, desde el extranjero.

Musings on the German Universities’ “Chair System”

As a tenured full professor in Germany, for the last twelve years (and change) I have also been a “Chair holder” in the famous and infamous “Chair system” of German universities, where the power rests on the Chairs and not on the departments. That is, even if there is a Department of X, the actual administrative unit is the “Chair” (somehow, I feel that I have to capitalize that), where a single full professor has near-absolute power over a few assistants, a part-time secretary, and a modest research budget. The “Department” is then just a loose coalition of Chairs, which sometimes cooperate with each other. The most-prominent alternative is the actual department structure, where professors are colleagues within a larger unit, with hiring committees, common budgets, organized supervision of Ph.D. students, and front offices with shared administrative personnel.

Giving up the Chair’s Secretary

Note: I am in the process of leaving the German University system. This is the first of a series of posts recapitulating on the experience, in no particular order, to be written as the mood strikes and the opportunity arises.

A German university (full) professor and chair holder is typically endowed with his own secretary. Since I became a chair holder in Germany over twelve years ago (I am about to leave the system right now), I’ve had one, or rather a succession thereof. But, when the last one resigned, I gave up the position, and I have been without ever since. And, I have to say, this was an improvement for my research group.