Tübingen University Association Celebrates 100 Years
The Association of Friends of the University of Tübingen, the University Association, is celebrating its anniversary: it was founded 100 years ago with the aim of supporting research, education and students at the University of Tübingen. To mark the anniversary, he is calling for a year of donations under the motto “Promoting instead of celebrating”. The money collected will benefit the university library’s circulation center, which is being remodeled.
Marked by the crisis year of 1923, the association was founded on January 20, 1924. The aim was to take university education into one’s own responsibility and to no longer depend solely on the amount of state subsidies. Even during the National Socialist tyranny, the association stuck to its democratic statutes and thus accepted a possible dissolution. Although the number of non-university members fell enormously, the association survived this difficult time and took on central support tasks at the University of Tübingen in the post-war period.
To this day, his mission is to support the university in a variety of ways, as CEO Christian O. Erbe says: “The variety and spectrum of our supported projects are extraordinary. Over the past 20 years, the University Association has invested more than 5.3 million euros in numerous funding projects. We owe this to the generosity of benevolent donors as well as the loyalty and solidarity of our members. They are the mainstay of the association and secure the funding budget with donations and membership fees.”
Wide range of funding
Major projects that were financed by the University Association include, for example, the fountains on Brüder-Scholl-Platz and the Steinway grand piano in the ballroom. In everyday life, the association primarily supports a variety of individual projects and institutions at the university: the annual media lecture, special exhibitions and publications from the MUT Museum, university sports tournaments and events for the public such as the Children’s University, Mathematics Day and the former Tübingen Window for Research.
The funding activities also include subsidizing student excursions, travel expenses for conferences and the participation of student councils and student groups in competitions such as debating championships, legal moot courts or the scientific iGEM Competition.
Awards such as the university’s annual doctoral awards are only possible with the support of the University Association – in the future, the University of Tübingen’s teaching award and the special award for student engagement will also be financed by the University Association.
The association has been the largest individual sponsor of the Germany scholarships at the university since their introduction in 2011. More than 900 particularly talented and capable students have already been supported with a total of 1.7 million euros.
Support for 26 foundations
Another area of activity is the administration of 26 foundations, which the association looks after in trust, and some of whose funds are earmarked for various institutes and specialist disciplines. The financially strongest of these foundations annually awards the renowned Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize and a coveted Young Scientist Prize; The second largest incorporated foundation is committed to internationalization and, among other things, promotes guest lecturers and the mobility of young researchers.
“As a support association, the University Association makes an essential contribution to securing the strategic goals of the university: excellence in research and teaching as a basis for the qualification of competent, efficient and responsible minds for the economy and society of tomorrow,” says the university’s rector, Professor Dr. Dr. hc (Dōshisha) Karla Pollmann. “We will continue to rely on this important support in the future and are grateful for it.”
According to the university motto “Attempto! – I dare you”, the association will continue its work and in the anniversary year would like to collect as much donations as possible for the major project, the redesign of the lending center, in addition to the regular funding activities.