Organisational Bodies

Dean

The Dean of BIGSAS is Prof. Dr Andrea Behrends.

The management of BIGSAS is the responsibility of the Dean. She or he shall endeavour to ensure that the provisions of the BIGSAS Regulations are complied with. With regard to matters that cannot be postponed, the Dean is also authorised make decisions on behalf of the Steering Committee (SC). According to the Regulations of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence the Vice Dean of the Early Career and Equal Opportunity portfolio (EC&EO) automatically becomes Dean of BIGSAS for the term for which she or he was elected.

Deputy Head

The Deputy Head of BIGSAS is Prof. Dr Alexander Stroh-Steckelberg.

The Dean is assisted by the Deputy Head who is elected amongst the four representatives of the Members of BIGSAS by the SC.

BIGSAS is headed by the Steering Committee (SC) which comprises the Dean and the Deputy Head, three elected Senior Fellows representing the Members of BIGSAS, the Junior Fellow Representatives and the Director of the Gender and Diversity Office (GDO) of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, the Academic Coordinator of the EC&EO portfolio of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence and the BIGSAS Coordinator.

The SC admits the doctoral candidates, verifies the progress of every doctoral candidate, takes the final decisions regarding the organisation of the graduate school, the coordination of the training programme, the allocation of finances and appoints the doctoral examinations commissions for the defence. Further, the SC decides on the approval of funds exceeding EUR 2,000.00.

Applications must be received no later than 12 pm on Wednesday in the week before the meeting. All applications to the SC are to be submitted in English language.

Next meetings of the SC

• 18.10.2023

Current members of the SC:

• Prof. Dr Andrea Behrends
• Prof. Dr Alexander Stroh-Steckelberg
• Prof. Dr Valentina Serreli
• Dr Serawit Debele
• Prof. Dr Clarissa Vierke
• Monika Rohmer 
• Eileen Jahn 
• Dr Christine Vogt-William
• Dr Christine Scherer
• Michelle Heese

The SC is assigned to complement the Doctoral Regulations of BIGSAS with decisions of principle. You may download the current list of decisions of principle here:

• in English
• in German

The execution of the decisions of the SC is carried out by the Executive Committee (EC), comprising the Dean, the Deputy Head, the Director of the GDO of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, the Academic Coordinator of the EC&EO portfolio of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence and the BIGSAS Coordinator.

The EC decides on the approval of funds up to EUR 2,000.00 and on all field work applications. For higher amounts, the SC decides.

Applications must be received no later than 12 pm on Wednesday in the week before the meeting.

• Last EC meetings before the summer break:
• 02.08.2023

• Current members of the EC:
• Prof. Dr Andrea Behrends
• Prof. Dr Alexander Stroh-Steckelberg
• Dr Christine Vogt-William
• Dr Christine Scherer
• Michelle Heese

The General Assembly comprises all Members of BIGSAS and meets once a year at the invitation of the Dean of BIGSAS. It is responsible for the following tasks:

• the election of the four representatives of the Members in the SC,
• resolutions on the BIGSAS Regulations and its amendment (see below),
• acceptance and discussion of the Dean's, the Director of the GDO's and the Junior Fellow Representatives' reports, and
• acceptance and discussion of further reports as appropriate.

Members of the General Assembly are obliged to attend its meetings according to the rules in the University of Bayreuth's constitution dated 25 June 2007 (as amended).

The management of BIGSAS is supported by the Advisory Board. It is invited to meet by the Dean of BIGSAS as required and is composed of the Vice President for Research & Junior Scholars at the University of Bayreuth, the Director of the University of Bayreuth Graduate School, the spokesperson of the Institute of African Studies and the Dean of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence.

Current members of the Advisory Board:

• Prof. Dr Britta Planer-Friedrich
• Prof. Dr Hans-Werner Schmidt
• Prof. Dr Cyrus Samimi
• Prof. Dr Rüdiger Seesemann