The rector of the University of Oslo is the university's highest officer, who serves as both its chief executive, its ceremonial head and as chairperson of the university board. The rector is directly elected among the (full) professors by all the members of the university community, that is academic employees, students and technical-administrative staff, who received the right to vote in this order. Until 1989, only professors were eligible to stand for election, although so far all rectors have been professors at the university. The rector's deputy and the university's second highest official, the pro-rector, is also directly elected at the same time. Both the rector and the pro-rector are elected for four-year terms and may stand for reelection to the same office once. The rectorate may also include one or more appointed vice-rectors, who rank below both the rector and the pro-rector. The rectorate forms the university's senior leadership and has the overall responsibility for the management of the university; they are assisted by the director of the university, who heads the technical-administrative staff, but who is subordinate to the rectorate (the rector, pro-rector and vice-rectors).
The office of rector was instituted by law in 1905, and made effective in 1907. From 1845 to 1907, the Collegium academicum, the highest body of the university, elected a chairman among its members to serve for one year. From 1814 to 1845, the university had a Chancellor, which was only a ceremonial office held by the Lord Lieutenant (stattholder), and a Pro-Chancellor, who was the deputy of the Chancellor and ex officio chairman of the Collegium academicum.
Term | Chancellor |
---|---|
1814–1816 | Count Hans Henric von Essen |
1816–1818 | Count Carl Mörner |
1818–1824 | Count Johan August Sandels |
1818–1824 | Crown Prince Oscar |
Term | Pro-Chancellor |
---|---|
1814–1822 | Bishop Frederik Julius Bech |
1823–1828 | Professor Niels Treschow |
1828–1840 | Count Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg |
1840–1845 | Bishop Christian Sørenssen |
Term | Chairman of the Collegium academicum | Field of study |
---|---|---|
? | ? | ? |
Term | Rector | Field of study |
---|---|---|
1907–1911 | Waldemar Christofer Brøgger | Mineralogy and geology |
1912–1918 | Bredo Henrik von Munthe af Morgenstierne | Jurisprudence, economics, and statistics |
1919–1921 | Fridtjof Nansen 1 | Zoology and oceanography |
1919–1921 | Axel Holst | Medicine |
1921–1927 | Fredrik Stang | Jurisprudence |
1928–1936 | Sem Sæland | Physics |
1937–1941 | Didrik Arup Seip | North Germanic languages |
1941–1945 | Adolf Hoel 2 | Geology |
1946–1951 | Otto Lous Mohr | Medicine |
1952–1957 | Frede Castberg | Jurisprudence |
1958–1963 | Johan Tidemann Ruud | Marine biology |
1964–1969 | Hans Vogt | Romance languages |
1970–1972 | Johs. Andenæs | Jurisprudence |
1973–1976 | Otto Bastiansen | Chemistry |
1977–1984 | Bjarne A. Waaler | Medicine |
1985–1992 | Inge Lønning | Theology |
1993–1998 | Lucy Smith | Jurisprudence |
1999–2001 | Kaare R. Norum | Nutritional science |
2002–2005 | Arild Underdal | Political science |
2006–2009 | Geir Ellingsrud | Mathematics |
2009–2017 | Ole Petter Ottersen | Medicine |
2017–Present | Svein Stølen | Chemistry |
The University of Oslo is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world and as one of the leading universities of Northern Europe; the Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked it the 58th best university in the world and the third best in the Nordic countries. In 2016, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings listed the university at 63rd, making it the highest ranked Norwegian university.
A rector is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world the rector is often the most senior official in a university, whilst in the United States the most senior official is often referred to as president and in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations the most senior official is the chancellor, whose office is primarily ceremonial and titular. The term and office of a rector can be referred to as a rectorate. The title is used widely in universities in Europe and is very common in Latin American countries. It is also used in Brunei, Macau, Turkey, Russia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Israel and the Middle East. In the ancient universities of Scotland the office is sometimes referred to as Lord Rector, is the third most senior official, and is usually responsible for chairing the University Court.
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest university and one of the world's oldest surviving universities. It was the third university established in the Holy Roman Empire.
The University of Oviedo is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón and Mieres.
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Karl Seip was a Norwegian priest and educator, who also served as the Minister of Education and Church Affairs from 1908 to 1909.
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Adolf Hoel was a Norwegian geologist, environmentalist and Polar region researcher. He led several scientific expeditions to Svalbard and Greenland. Hoel has been described as one of the most iconic and influential figures in Norwegian polar exploration in the first half of the 20th century, alongside Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen. His focus on and research of the polar areas has been largely credited as the reason Norway has sovereignty over Svalbard and Queen Maud Land in the Antarctica. Hoel was the founding director of the Norwegian Polar Institute and served as rector of the University of Oslo and as President of the Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature.
Didrik Arup Seip was a professor of North Germanic languages at the University of Oslo.
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Anton Wilhelm Brøgger was a Norwegian archaeologist.
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Ole Petter Ottersen is a Norwegian physician and neuroscientist. He serves as the Rector of Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and took office in August 2017. Ottersen has been professor of medicine at the University of Oslo since 1992 and served as the university's directly elected Rector from 2009 to 2017.
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