University of Mannheim: General meeting of the Friends of the University of Mannheim
The annual general meeting of the Friends of the University of Mannheim (FUM) took place on July 11, 2022. Among other things, the members discussed future cooperation between the Friends and the University of Mannheim Foundation. Sigrid Schnabel, administration department, and Roland Hartung, previous treasurer, also said goodbye.
This year, for the second time since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, the General Assembly could be held in attendance and took place in the auditorium of the castle. The first item on the agenda was increased cooperation between friends and the University of Mannheim Foundation. The aim of this cooperation is primarily the coordinated addressing of external supporters of the university (e.g. members of the FUM and partners of the foundation), the organization of joint events and the recruitment of new members among the friends. “We are pleased that FUM and the foundation will work together even more closely in the future and that the foundation will take over the administration for the friends,” says the chairman of the friends, Dr. Joseph Zimmerman.
Furthermore, the farewell of some long-standing FUM members was on the program. Sigrid Schnabel is retiring after almost 20 years as the contact person for all administrative matters at the FUM. “Ms. Schnabel was a great professional support for me, absolutely reliable and always friendly,” says the chairman of the Friends, Dr. Joseph Zimmerman.
Likewise, Roland Hartung is leaving the Friends after 16 years as treasurer and moving to the same post at the University of Mannheim Foundation. In the years of his work, Hartung managed a total of more than one million euros, which the Friends of the University made available. The position of Treasurer at the Friends will be Dr. Wolfgang Thomasberger take over. The doctor of law worked for many years on the board of VR Bank Rhein-Neckar eG and most recently as its board. “We are happy for Dr. Thomasberger to welcome an experienced financial expert to the Management Board. At the same time, I would like to thank Mr. Hartung for his many years of commitment and, above all, for his loyalty to the University of Mannheim, which his current move to the foundation once again underlines,” says Zimmermann.
After the meeting, Prof. Dr. Rosemarie Tracy gave a lecture on the topic “The independent life and entertainment value of languages in the head”.