Dean elections 2023
On 3 October, the faculties’ electoral bodies elected new deans for the University of Tartu. The Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities Anti Selart, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Margit Keller, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Külli Kingo, and the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology Leho Ainsaar will assume office on 1 January 2024.
The dean is elected from among the professors and associate professors of the university. The dean chairs the faculty council, monitors the activities of the structural units of the faculty, represents the university within the limits of authority granted by the rector, and appoints vice deans.
Elections timeline
16 August Rector Toomas Asser announced the dean elections.
12 September Election commission registered dean candidates.
18 September Rector Toomas Asser approved the list of the electoral body.
3 October new deans were elected.
1 January 2024 New deans take office.
The dean candidate of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities is the current dean, Professor of Medieval History Anti Selart.
The dean candidate meets the staff and students of the faculty on 26 September at 16:00 (Lossi 3 lobby). Participate in the meeting or watch it live on UTTV.
The dean candidates of the Faculty of Social Sciences are Margit Keller, Associate Professor in Social Communication and Head of the University of Tartu Centre for Sustainable Development, and Janno Lahe, Professor of Tort Law and Acting Dean and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
The dean candidates meet the staff and students of the faculty on 27 September at 15:15 (Delta, Narva mnt 18–1018). Participate in the meeting or watch it live on UTTV.
The dean candidates of the Faculty of Medicine are Ruth Kalda, Professor of Family Medicine, and Külli Kingo, Vice Dean for Research of the Faculty of Medicine, Head of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, and Professor in Dermatology and Venereology.
The dean candidates meet the staff and students of the faculty on 2 October at 16:00 (Puusepa 8, Linkberg lecture hall). Participate in the meeting or watch it live on UTTV.
The dean candidate of the Faculty of Science and Technology is the current dean, Professor in Geology Leho Ainsaar.
The dean candidate meets the staff and students of the faculty on 28 September at 16:15 (Omicum, Riia 23b–105). Participate in the meeting or watch it live on UTTV.
The dean is elected by the electoral body comprising the academic staff members of the faculty whose workload as academic staff is at least 20 hours per week, and the student representatives in the faculty council and in the councils of institutes and colleges of the faculty. In the Faculty of Medicine, the electoral body also comprises resident doctors in the faculty council and in the councils of institutes.
The rector approved the list of the electoral body on 18 September.
On 4 September, the rector formed the commission for the dean elections.
The chair of the commission is Academic Secretary Tõnis Karki and members are Associate Professor in Human Physiology Aavo Lang (Faculty of Medicine), Associate Professor of Translation Studies and Director of the Institute of Foreign Languages and Cultures Terje Loogus (Faculty of Arts and Humanities), Associate Professor of Technology Research Mihkel Solvak (Faculty of Social Sciences), Associate Professor in Science Teaching and Head of the Centre for Science Education Regina Soobard (Faculty of Science and Technology) and Legal Counsel Aliis Liin.
Candidates for the dean's position can be submitted by the rector, by councils of the institutes and colleges of the faculty, jointly by at least ten members of the academic staff of the faculty, and by the student council of the faculty.
Nominations must be sent to the election commission by email to valimised@ut.ee by 12 September at 16. The person nominating a candidate must also send the election commission the candidate's signed consent to be a candidate for the dean's position. If the original document is on paper, it must be submitted to the academic secretary by the same deadline.
The university's professors and associate professors can be nominated as dean candidates until 12 September at 16.