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How come it takes so long to recruit a Vice-Chancellor?

Interior from the Kungshuset, the Carolina Hall.

Recruiting a university Vice-Chancellor is a major undertaking. Since the Vice-Chancellor has a crucial impact on the future of the University, it is necessary to provide many different groups with the opportunity to influence the process, and that the process has been carefully thought out.

The Vice-Chancellor and deputy vice-chancellor’s terms of office expire at the end of December 2026. Work on the planning of the recruitment got underway in spring 2025, while the Recruitment Committee met for the first time in September. How can it take almost 18 months to recruit a Vice-Chancellor? Who ultimately decides who becomes the University’s Vice-Chancellor? 

In most recruitments that are undertaken, the employing manager runs the process. There, it is up to the manager to involve the necessary people and to make the decision. In appointments to academic teaching positions, extra stages are added, for example Academic Appointments Boards and external experts are involved. 

When recruiting a Vice-Chancellor, the process is significantly more complicated, with good reason of course. A Vice-Chancellor has such a significant influence on the University’s operations within research, education and external engagement. This is why it is necessary to involve many more people in both the person specification and the selection of candidates. Therefore, a Recruitment Committee is appointed every time a Vice-Chancellor is to be recruited. The Recruitment Committee is made up of representatives from the University Board, the University’s electoral college and employee organisations. 

New web page about the recruitment of the Vice-Chancellor

Read more about the process, the recruitment group, the University Collegium and the University Board: 

The page will be launched in short, until then see the Swedish version: Recruitment of Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor 2025-2026