Volli Kalm takes oath of office as UT rector on Friday

On 30 June, the inauguration ceremony where rector Professor Volli Kalm takes an oath of office for the new term as the rector will be held in the assembly hall of the University of Tartu.

On 30 June 2017 at 16:00 the inauguration of Professor Volli Kalm takes place at the open session of the university council and senate in the assembly hall of the University of Tartu. After the address by UT council chair Ruth Oltjer, the Rector takes the oath of office. President Kersti Kaljulaid hands over the chain of office to Volli Kalm, the 85^th rector of the University of Tartu.

Rector Kalm, who is starting his new five-year term of office, delivers an inaugural speech in which he also introduces his team. The new Rector’s Office starts work on 1 July and includes three vice rectors who are in charge of academic affairs, research and development. New members of the Rector’s Office are Professor of Theatre Research Anneli Saro, who starts work as Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, and Senior Research Fellow in Technology Research Kristjan Vassil, who assumes the office of Vice Rector for Research. Erik Puura continues in the position of Vice Rector for Development. Next to the deans who have been elected into office for four years, also Head of Finance Taimo Saan and Academic Secretary Andres Soosaar continue as members of the Rector’s Office.

Volli Kalm said, “The vice rectors in the new Rector’s Office have a broad-based professional background – what I expect from these representatives of the younger generation is a fresh view, clear accountability and, definitely, without compromise standing for the as high as possible level of the university’s academic and research activities.” Speaking of his plans for the upcoming term of office, Volli Kalm pointed out that although several strategic decisions concerning the focus areas and laboratories of the university, new job descriptions, attracting promising young people to the university, investments in the Delta centre, sports building and the dormitory of Narva College have already been made, their actual implementation is still in progress or at an early stage. “Our recent partnership with European top universities has also opened a completely new dimension for the university in international academic cooperation. Quite soon we are going to develop the university’s new strategic plan – like those mentioned before, it will include tasks, the effects of which will be evaluated by future rectors’ offices and academic generations, and this demands us to be even more responsible when carrying out these things,” said Kalm.

The university’s 250-member electoral council elected Volli Kalm as the rector on 30 March 2017. Two candidates were running for the position of the rector of the University of Tartu: the incumbent rector, UT Professor of Applied Geology Volli Kalm and UT Professor of Practical Philosophy Margit Sutrop.

Volli Kalm was born on 10 February 1953. In 1976 he graduated from the University of Tartu in geology. In 1984 Kalm defended his dissertation “Formation, composition and usage of glaciofluvial deposits in Estonia” and was granted the candidate of science degree (PhD) in geology. From 1988–1989 he completed postdoctoral studies in the Department of Geology of the University of Alberta. Volli Kalm worked in the Institute of Geology of the UT Faculty of Biology and Geology since 1981. From 1998–2003 he was Vice Rector for Academic Affairs of the University of Tartu. Since 2012, Professor Volli Kalm has been the rector of the University of Tartu.

Additional information: Andres Soosaar, UT Academic Secretary, 5919 1116, andres.soosaar@ut.ee