Chancellor of a higher education institution – a job that is fulfilling and makes for exchange. That is how Stefan Hartmann summarises his job at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt. What characterises the person behind such an important office?
"Chancellor is a title that makes you think of the Federal Chancellor at first, but you get used to it", Stefan Hartmann says with a smile. Dressed in a scarf and a grey coat, the chancellor of the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) sits in his office on the first floor of the main building. The year 2022 is nearly over and it is quite cold in the THWS facilities as the 51-year old speaks of his office – and on his milestones and objectives within the frame of his responsibilities: the financial budget, the administration and all of the non-scientific staff – so about 400 people.
In charge of finances, personnel and administration
Holding a Business Administration degree, Stefan Hartmann enjoys pondering finance tables concerning budget. But in the centre of his focus are the people: "I really enjoy the conversations and being able to support people individually", Hartmann says. For this, he solves problems occurring in the departments, congratulates jubilarians, imposes promotions and conducts personnel interviews. And in the end, all that matters to the man with the brown eyes are the main goals of the University: teaching and research.
Because he is in charge of administration, Chancellor Hartmann is the last contact person for everything that happens in science, and also for things that could still need improvement. Unstructured problems without an easy solution characterise his day-to-day, says the calm man. Oftentimes, decisions and derogations would have to be made. This consumed a lot of time and in the end, things are be possible that would not have been possible – because: “The chancellor than made the decision this way.”
The working practice of a chancellor is defined by many meetings with university management, which includes the superior of the chancellor, THWS president Professor Dr. Robert Grebner, to whom he maintains a trustful relationship. And this trustful relationship is essential because THWS is managed together. According to media reports, Grebner said the following on the new chancellor in November 2018: "I like his calm and confident ways, and I am sure that he will be a good chancellor to THWS.”
Competing partly with external candidates when he applied as chancellor, Hartmann titles this process a "wild ride" in retrospect. But he was confident because of his experience gained from 2013 in his previous positions at THWS as head of the Department of Public Affairs and Communications and head of quality management. As the appointed chancellor speaks about getting the job, he sounds proud.
Day-to-day work including strategic tasks and general problems
At first, Hartmann thought he could change a lot more a lot faster: effect improvements and accelerate processes. But with strategic tasks, the time factor would always be critical. Even before the crisis, the job of the greying man was a balancing act between long-term strategic tasks and the intermediary personal topics of day-to-day administration. His primary objective in this is to take forward personnel measures, especially in the areas of personnel development and health care. As an exemplary success he has achieved so far, Hartmann claims the modular qualification: Career advancement to higher qualification levels would now be possible for more and more employees.
He would care for the people around him and wanted to achieve something, confirms the chancellor's secretary, Gabriele Schraub: "He cares for others and takes care of the problems he is approached with." Also in his private life, the chancellor sees himself as "troubleshooter" – as the person who takes the organisation into his hands if a trip with family or friends is up. Thus, the father of two looks and sounds like he really means his intrinsic motivation and idealism – also in his professional role.
Becoming THWS chancellor with professional experience in the economic field
Juggling the numerous tasks of a higher education chancellor requires the right tools, not only a completed higher education qualification but also relevant professional experience in administration or economy of several years. Stefan Hartmann's basis is his Business Administration degree from the University of Würzburg and his MBA, which he completed in the US.
As consultant, authorised signatory and CEO of an IT consultancy, the chancellor could gain professional experience that he himself calls "dry". But these experiences facilitated his entry to THWS and opened up the possibility to take on personnel administration – even if his previous company was a medium-sized enterprise and THWS is much larger an institution.
Personal fulfillment for the Würzburg native
Contrary to his job in the economic enterprise, Hartmann now has the opportunity for exchange with students and for mutual project realisation. "Here in the education sector, the question of meaningfulness just does not come up." Before his change, at age 40, he had asked himself the question of meaning, and had felt trapped until retirement. "The daily challenge of staying motivated is easy here because I know what I stay motivated for", the Würzburg native emphasises.
After his degree he had considered leaving Würzburg and working at a big company in a big city. But after stops in New York for his MBA, and Cologne, Munich and Vienna for his career, he returned to his home town. And he truly enjoys life in the young student city.
To the father and husband this means spending time with his family: his wife, a THWS professor, and the two daughters, one eleven and the other one 15 years old. The family spends days off work or holidays are spent in private. Hartmann said that he only took small breaks by standard dancing with his wife, or by pursuing his passion, watching good movies. The day-to-day was already full enough with household chores and the children, who ought to get a lot of attention – and by his and his wife's fulltime jobs.
Momentum is to be gained despite crises
Especially in recent times, the chancellor's professional tasks were even more challenging because they were characterised by crisis management caused by Corona and the energy shortage. A lot of tasks had to be postponed until the following year. So, you would have to do without, and the man, who cares so much about his environment, admits that consideration is required when it comes to budget and human resources: "Not every wish can be fulfilled."
In the previous two years, people were glad that operations could be continued as smoothly as possible. Now, the chancellor wants to resume his original objectives and accelerate the velocity of change. "But in a way that people can still cope with", Hartmann says – because for him the focus is placed on the people.
Click here to listen to the podcast "A portrait of the THWS chancellor Stefan Hartmann"
(podcast in German; English transcript available)
The responsibilities of the THWS chancellor
The responsibilities of the chancellor of a higher education institution are laid down in detail in Section 23 (3) of the Bavarian Higher Education Act. Thus, the chancellor is in charge of the administration of the higher education institution, the budget and is superior of the THWS employees. As budget officer, he is not bound by university management or superior’s directives.