Farewell to Hartmut Ihne: A T-shirt from the AStA and an unexpected caretaker

Thanks for the role in the right to award doctorates

In their words of greeting, companions from the university and CDU politician Axel Voss had previously honoured Hartmut Ihne's work and personality. ‘Analysis, perseverance, resilience, an eye for the essentials and, last but not least, visionary ability characterise Mr Ihne - and his actions, always friendly and humorous,’ said Sylvie Hambloch-Gesinn, for example. The Chairman of the Senate, Professor Dr Andreas Gadatsch, who has been at H-BRS since 2002, combined his tribute to Hartmut Ihne with his personal life story by outlining his path from part-time studies to his doctorate. His conclusion: ‘I would like to thank you very much for this, because it is thanks to you that we now have the right to award doctorates here in North Rhine-Westphalia and also at our university.’ Gadatsch had symbolically brought a black doctoral hat as a gift.

Gadatsch was followed by Chancellor Angela Fischer, who has known the university since its inception. As head of the university administration, she spoke about the relationship that Hartmut Ihne had cultivated with the administration.

‘He was a president,’ she said, ’who spoke about and worked with the administration with great appreciation.’ And: ‘Personally, he always gave me room to manoeuvre, backing and trust. This was invaluable, especially in times of crisis, of which there were quite a few.’

After each block of speeches, the event was organised with either a poetry recital by Hanno Friedrich or a live musical performance. And so, after the speeches, Josef Piek, Freddy Wingchen and Chris Wübben got the room up to operating temperature with their version of ‘All Right Now’ by the English rock band Free. The musicians perform in this constellation as ‘Die 3Faltigen’. They are known as part of ‘Köbes Underground’, the house band of the Cologne Stunksitzung. Hanno Friedrich recited poems that Hartmut Ihne had requested, including Rilke's ‘Herbsttag’ and Brecht's ‘Radwechsel’. The actor, director and musician Hanno Friedrich, who lives in Bonn, is known for his many film and television productions.

A Jacobin on the barricade

The two laudators Michael Hoch, Rector of the University of Bonn, and Hans-Hennig von Grünberg, former President of the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, found very personal words for the trusted and recognisably highly esteemed colleague as long-time companions. Rector Hoch emphasised the good cooperation between the university and H-BRS. ‘That's what makes us strong in the region,’ he said. And he praised the positive development that Bonn-Rhine-Sieg University of Applied Sciences has undergone since its foundation. This can be seen, for example, in the sharp rise in student numbers or the innovative degree programmes. ‘Of course, this is also largely due to Hartmut Ihne's presidency,’ said Hoch. He successfully overcame crises such as the pandemic or the flood disaster at the Rheinbach campus.

Hans-Henning von Grünberg succeeded in captivating the audience with his speech, which was as personal as it was rich in imagery. He painted a picture of Hartmut Ihne as a Jacobin who, with his cap on his head, storms over the street barricade and sweeps the masses along with him. Von Grünberg emphasised Hartmut Ihne's role in obtaining the independent right to award doctorates for the universities of applied sciences (HAW) and the associated establishment of the NRW doctoral college: ‘The fact that this institution was founded is a milestone in the history of the universities of applied sciences and this milestone has a lot to do with Hartmut Ihne's work. And with his special ability to breathe life into politics at state and federal level.’ He also spoke knowledgeably about the private Hartmut Ihne, who had style in his clothing, habitus, education and language, who was both a carnivalist with close ties to his homeland and an international thinker who had internalised his Kant.

The last word at this varied farewell ceremony was of course reserved for the outgoing President himself. ‘Saying goodbye to something as important as the work you have trusted for many years has a special, existential dimension,’ said Ihne. There are many facets to saying goodbye, and the most important facet here is thanking the people with whom you have worked on a complex piece of work over a long period of time. And so the outgoing university president returned the thanks in his speech - to the laudators, the university community and the representatives from the region, the state and the federal level. Hartmut Ihne took a lot of time in his speech to thank the members of the university - from the Presidential Board to the deans, to the administration and from the University Council to the Senate to the staff councils and Equal Opportunities Officer Dr Barbara Hillen-Haas. He first mentioned his assistant Sabine Ellermann, without whom he would have been ‘always up and down’.

University is a wonderful thing, Ihne continues. ‘I have always considered it a privilege to be able to work in science. So many bright, capable people, of all ages, all genders, all backgrounds, all fields of knowledge! An inspiring, colourful world of ideas and visions, discourse and insights! And great freedoms. Always a breath of the future,’ he said. ‘I feel great gratitude for what I have been able and allowed to do.’