BIGSSS Organizational Structure and Governing Bodies

Meeting of Members (MoM)

The annual Meeting of Members includes all doctoral students (as well as those of other potential programs embedded in BIGSSS), faculty and staff members. Here the Dean presents his annual report, which must be approved by a majority. Elections for the Dean and Vice Deans are held every two years; the elected Deans are subsequently appointed by the BIGSSS Board, comprised of the Presidents of the two universities.

Deanery

The Deans administer the doctoral stu­dents and staff, represent BIGSSS within and beyond the universities. They report directly to the BIGSSS Board, with support from the Managing Director.

Executive Team (ET)

The Executive Team is the governing body of BIGSSS which meets on a monthly basis. It draws on the experience of academic, management, and administrative personnel of BIGSSS at University of Bremen and Constructor University to organize structured PhD education and implement decisions of the Academic Council (AC). 

The Executive Team consists of:

• Prof. Dr. Patrick Sachweh, Dean
• Prof. Dr. Adalbert Wilhelm, Vice Dean
• Dr. Christian Peters, Managing Director
• Dr. Regina Arant, Director of Studies
• Dr. Judith Vey, Academic Coordinator at University of Bremen
• Dr. Franziska Deutsch, Academic Coordinator at Constructor University
• Dr. Mandi Larsen, Methods Center Coordinator
• Sabine Sommer, Head of Administration
• Jessica Maczuga, Senior Coordinator of the Deans' Office
• Prof. Dr. Ulrich Kühnen (permanent guest), Speaker Research Training Group SELF

Academic Council (AC)

The Academic Council is the fundamental policy-making institution. It determines the institution's thematic and curricular development, the scientific positioning and the development of the scientific program and the training concept of the BIGSSS, as well as monitors of the call for applications and the recruitment of fellows, the quality assurance and the general principles of the allocation of funds and equality. The Academic Council has also appointed an ombudsperson (Prof. Dagmar Borchers, University of Bremen) to resolve any internal con­flicts that cannot be resolved by the Executive Team and the council, but she has, to date, not been needed.

The Academic Council comprises BIGSSS leadership (Deanery, Managing Director, Director of Studies, a representative from the group of Coordinators), representatives of the academic institutions that significantly contribute to BIGSSS (Academic Chairs), the Methods Center Chair, as well as Fellow Representatives and Equal Opportunity Officers.

Academic Chairs

The function of Academic Chairs is to strengthen communication and ties between participating instituions and to further improve alignment of academic programs, reasreach and doctiral education at BIGSSS and the Bremen Social Sciences. Academic Chairs are appointed by the Dean for a period of two years on the proposal of the Meeting of Members. 

Academic Chairs for the period 2022-2024:

• Socium: Prof. Dr. Simone Scherger (Deputy: Prof. Olaf Groh-Samberg)
• InIIS: Prof. Susanne K. Schmidt (Deputy: Prof. Martin Nonhoff)
• Constructor University: Prof. Ulrich Kühnen (Deputy: Prof. Sonia Lippke)