On April 17, 2019, the Senate of the Maria Grzegorzewska University has appointed Prof. Henryk Skarżyński to become the head of the first University Board Pursuant to the provisions of the Higher Education and Science Law, the election was carried out by means of a secret ballot with the requirement of absolute majority and attendance of at least one half of the University Senate members. Prof. Skarżyński was elected to hold the position for a 4-year term.

Prof. Henryk Skarżyński has been a long-time collaborator of the University, for example as inauguration lecture speaker and joint research project coordinator. In 2011, he was awarded the honorary doctorate of the University.

The University Board is a public university body established in 2018 to issue opinions on the university strategy and statute drafts and to monitor the university’s finances and management. The Board is also entitled to select candidates for the rectorial post (after the Senate has issued their opinion thereon) as well as to give opinions on the reports on the pursuit of the university strategy.

Pursuant to the law, the Board may comprise of 6 or 8 members plus the student body president. At least 50% of the Board Members should not be directly affiliated with the University.

As stated on the Ministry’s website www.konstytucjadlanauki.gov.pl, the establishment of university boards will provide a more distanced look on university strategies, make the hermetic academic more open to their socioeconomic environment as well as open up opportunities for a more professional management. For many years, university boards have been parts of the best-managed universities around the globe . (…) The experience of individuals from different sectors may provide a new, creative outlook on the goals and challenges faced by the universities. Therefore, university boards will act as advisory bodies (…).

The establishment of the University Boards is not an original concept. The new organizational structure of the university was inspired by solutions already in place in Germany, UK, and Nordic countries. University Boards at the University of Heidelberg or at the Technical University of Munich decide on the university strategies and development programs and single-handedly appoint university presidents. The competences of university boards at Danish universities are even broader as the law makes them responsible for strategic planning, financial surveillance, as well as for the appointments and dismissals of rectors.