Hans N. Weiler

Welcome to my Homepage!

*** Meine deutsche Homepage finden Sie hier ***.

Information

I am a Professor Emeritus of Education and Political Science at Stanford University, and a Professor Emeritus of Comparative Politics and past Rektor of Viadrina European University at Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.

For some further biographical information, click here.

For a list of recent publications, click here.

I can be reached as follows:

Hans N. Weiler
752 Tolman Drive
Stanford, CA 94305 - USA
Phone: +1-650-494-2349
Fax: +1-650-494-2262
Mobile: +1-650-714-8607
Email: weiler@stanford.edu


Our Berlin address has changed in September, 2006; we can now be reached at
Einsteinufer 67A
D-10587 Berlin
Phone +49-30-3459711
Mobile +49-173-983-5175
Email as above

As I travel a great deal, the fastest way to reach me is usually by email.

Recent Writings

Here are recently completed papers, manuscripts, and presentations (in German or English) that can be downloaded (in .pdf or .ppt format); additional texts in German, including recent presentations in Paderborn, Genshagen, Berlin, Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Bochum, Frankfurt/Main, Hannover, Frankfurt (Oder), Ulm, and Bamberg can be found on my German homepage.

• "Notes on Indian Higher Education", a first draft of my current work on the state and perspectives of higher education in India (on which comments are very welcome).
• The text of my Introduction to the first plenary session of the G8-UNESCO World Forum on "Education, Research, and Innovation" at Trieste/Italy on May 10, 2007.
• A seminar presentation at the Stanford School of Education in April on "Professional Schools in Europe: Exporting Solutions or Damaged Goods?" about my efforts to advocate the introduction of professional schools into the structure of higher education in Germany - and some reflections on the American original (powerpoint slides only).
• An invited address on "The Price of Excellence: Comparative Perspectives on Competitive Higher Education" at the University of Technology Mara in Shah Allam/Selangor (Malaysia) in April of 2007 (powerpoint slides).
• A plenary presentation on "Values, Ethics, and Research: Commerce, Politics, Integrity, and Culture" at the 2006 General Conference of the OECD program on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) in Paris on September 11, 2006 (Powerpoint slides).
• A keynote address on recent developments in German research and higher education policy "Exzellenzinitiative, Förderlinien, Vollkostenfinanzierung: Neues Vokabular oder neue Forschungsförderung in Deutschland?" at the annual meeting of the German Scholars Organization (GSO) in San Francisco, March, 2006 (powerpoint slides only).
• "Private Hochschulen in Deutschland - Reformmotor oder Randerscheinung?" (Keynote at a conference on private higher education in Germany jointly organized by the Center for Higher Education Development [CHE] and the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, November 2005)
• "Hochschulreform und Digitalisierung: Herausforderung für Lehre, Hochschulmanagement, Wissenstransfer und Forschung" (an invited lecture at Hagen University on higher education in the digital age, October 2005)
• "Vorbild Amerika? Erfolge und Probleme der Stiftungsfinanzierung im amerikanischen Hochschulwesen" (An invited lecture at the University of Potsdam on endowment funding in American higher education on September 15, 2005; available now are the complete and expanded powerpoint slides; the full text of the lecture will be available here shortly).
• "Theorizing the 'American Empire': Life with a Bengal Tiger" (Keynote Lecture at the Third Byblos Autumn School on "International Relations in an Uncertain Hegemonial World System" in Byblos/Lebanon on September 7, 2005; available now are the complete powerpoint slides; the full text of the lecture will be available here shortly).
• "Eckpunkte eines zukunftsfähigen deutschen Wissenschaftssystems - Zwölf Empfehlungen" (a memorandum, co-authored by me and prepared under the auspices of the Volkswagen Foundation, on the future of research policy in Germany, published in May of 2005).
• "Silicon Valley und die Hochschulen - Kalifornische Erfolgsstory oder Kommerzialisierungsfalle?" (Invited Lecture on the relationship between Silicon Valley and California higher education at the Colloquium Politicum, University of Freiburg on May 23, 2005).
• "Ambivalence: Contradictions in Contemporary Higher Education" (Keynote Lecture for the "University Autonomy Workshop" of the Central European University/Open Society Institute in Budapest on April 21, 2005).
• "Profil - Qualität - Autonomie: Die unternehmerische Universität im Wettbewerb" (Invited Lecture on the challenges of the "entrepreneurial university" at a joint meeting of the Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien and the Investkredit Bank AG in Vienna on April 14, 2005).
• "Hochschulreform und Digitalisierung - Herausforderungen für Lehre. Management, Wissenstransfer und Forschung" (Inaugural Lecture on digitilization and the reform of higher education at the Centrum für integrative Lehr-/Lernkonzepte of the Aachen Technical University, April 8, 2005).
• "Theory and Practice: Dichotomies of Knowledge" (a contribution to an invited panel at the 2005 meetings of the Comparative and International Education Society at Stanford, March 2005).
• "Die Welt kennt keine Disziplinen" (arguing for the introduction of professional schools in German universities, published in the duzMagazin 01/2005 of 1/21/05).
• "Internationalisierung des Studienwesens" (chapter for a handbook on the quality of teaching in higher education, edited by Benz, Kohler, and Landfried, Berlin 2005).
• "Schools - Kollegs - Zentren: Alternative Organisationsstrukturen für deutsche Hochschulen" (Vortrag im Rahmen der gemeinsamen Ringvorlesung der Fachhochschule Nordostniedersachsen und der Universität Lüneburg am 7. Dezember 2004).
• "Challenging the Orthodoxies of Knowledge: Epistemological, Structural, and Political Implications for Higher Education" (Invited Paper presented at an international Symposium of the UNESCO Forum on Higher Education, Research, and Knowledge in Paris, December 1, 2004).
• "Wie digital ist die Elite-Uni? Die digitalen Herausforderungen von Spitzenhochschulen in den USA" (Vortrag anlässlich der Konferenz "Campus Innovation Hamburg: Digitale Dimensionen" der MultimediaKontor Hamburg GmbH, Universität Hamburg, 30. September 2004).
• "Spitzenforschung Made in Germany" (Diskussionsbeitrag für das Forum Wissenschaft und Innovation der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Berlin, 30. September 2004).
• "Licht und Schatten im Silicon Valley: Lehren für Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft in Deutschland" (Vortrag im Rahmen des "Erfurter Dialogs" in der Thüringer Staatskanzlei am 22. September 2004).
• "Neuer Wein braucht neue Schläuche - Organisationsformen und -reformen im deutschen Hochschulwesen" (Keynote at a conference of the Center for Higher Education Development (CHE) in Berlin, April 2004).
• "Promotion und Exzellenz - Strukturelle und institutionelle Bedingungen erfolgreicher Nachwuchsförderung" (Presentation at a meeting of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) about new strategies in the training of PhDs, Bonn, May 2004).
• "Das Märchen von den Elite-Universitäten in Deutschland" (Newspaper article on the current debate in Germany about the creation of "elite universities").
• "Hochschulen in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika – Modell für Deutschland?" (Published in "Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte", June 14, 2004).
• "Ambivalence and the Politics of Knowledge: The Struggle for Change in German Higher Education" (for publication in "Higher Education", 2004).
• "Berufungspraxis an U.S.-amerikanischen Hochschulen" (Statement at an international hearing of the "Wissenschaftsrat" on the reform of appointment and promotion procedures at German universities, Köln, May 2004).
• "Nicht alles, was glänzt, ist Gold: Pathologies of American Higher Education" (Presentation, in English, at the 2003 Fulbright Educational Experts Seminar, New York, September 22, 2003).
  
  

Current Projects

The projects I am currently (or have recently been) involved in include

• Sorting out, and reflecting upon, a number of interviews recently conducted in India regarding the development of that country's system of higher education against the background of India's remarkable economic and technological development (see above for a first draft of my findings).
• Preparing a number of events dealing with higher education policy in the course of 2008, including a keynote address at the annual meeting of the Emmy Noether Program of the German Research Association (DFG) in Potsdam, a lecture trip to South Africa, the opening lecture for a new University Lecture Series of the University of Trier, and a number of other presentations.
• Editing for publication various invited presentations given in 2006, 2007 and 2008 at (inter alia) a congress on higher education development in Stuttgart/Germany, a meeting of the German Scholars Organization in San Francisco, at UNESCO in Paris, at a medical congress in Baden-Baden/Germany, at the University of Bochum, at a meeting of German private universities in Heidelberg, at OECD in Paris, at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Berlin, at Lufthansa AG in Frankfurt/Main, at a conference on the internationalization of higher education in Berlin, at the University of Technology Mara in Selangor/Malaysia, at a faculty seminar at the Stanford School of Education, at a congress on higher education reform in Hannover, at the G8-UNESCO World Forum on Education, Research and Innovation in Trieste, at the 40th anniversary of the University of Ulm, at several meetings organized by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, and at the formal re-dedication of the medieval stain-glass windows in St. Mary's church in Frankfurt (Oder) following their return from St. Petersburg where they had been held since the end of WW II.
• Serving as a reviewer for the second round of the "Excellence Initiative" in support of outstanding German research universities.
• Serving as an advisor to the state government of Baden-Württemberg on the future development of its system of higher education, and to several (public and private) universities in Germany on their development plans.
• Assisting the Hertie Foundation in the further development of the "Hertie School of Governance" in Berlin, and serving, together with Kurt Biedenkopf, Michael Endres, Fritz Scharpf, and others on the School's Board of Trustees. For details on the project (in English), click here.
• Serving on the International Advisory Council of the Free University of Berlin and of the Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien.
• Serving, as the sole U.S. member, on the "Global Scientific Committee" of UNESCO's Forum on Higher Education, Research and Knowledge. The first book resulting from the Forum's work has now been published by UNESCO Press: "Knowledge, Power and Dissent: Critical Perspectives on Higher Education and Research in Knowledge Society" (Guy Neave, ed.), 2006; it includes my essay on "Challenging the Orthodoxies of Knowledge: Epistemological, Structural, and Political Implications for Higher Education".
• Continuing my work on a book entitled "Between the State and the Market: The Politics of Higher Education Reform in Germany".
  
  

Recent Projects

The following are some of the projects which I have recently completed (links are to papers and further information in English unless noted otherwise):

• Serving, as deputy chair, on the Board ("Kuratorium") of the University of Bielefeld, and on the Board of the University of Erfurt.
• Chairing the advisory board for a project supporting innovative programs of teacher training in Germany (sponsored by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft and the Mercator Foundation).
• Participating for two years in a special commission (chaired by Gert G. Wagner) of the German Wissenschaftsrat on "Higher Education and Demographic Change". The Commission's Report and Recommendations are now available (in German).
• A number of invited presentations in the course of 2006, 2007, and 2008 in Europe, Asia, and North America (for the texts of many of these, see above at "recent writings").
• Participating in the preparation of a Memorandum on the future of research policy in Germany as part of a group of experts convened under the auspices of the Volkswagen Foundation; the Memorandum, entitled "Eckpunkte eines zukunftsfähigen deutschen Wissenschaftssystems", was made public in May of 2005 (see also above under "recent writings").
• Participating, through a variety of public statements and interviews, in the debate about developing in Germany "elite universities à la Harvard and Stanford"; see above under "recent writings"; other statements have appeared in "Die Zeit", "Die Welt", "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" and "Wirtschaftswoche".
• Organizing and chairing a project on "higher education and labor markets" under the auspices of the Deutsche Bahn AG, together with Norbert Bensel and Gert G. Wagner. Based on an invitational Workshop on this project held in Berlin in February of 2003, we have now published a book on "Hochschulen, Studienreform und Arbeitsmärkte: Voraussetzungen erfolgreicher Beschäftigungs- und Hochschulpolitik" (W. Bertelsmann Verlag, 2003; ISBN 3-7639-3168-6). For the table of contents of the book, click here.
• A keynote address for a European Conference on "The New Educational Benefits of ICT in Higher Education" in Rotterdam, September 2-4, 2002. The proceedings of this conference have now been published (click here for the text of my contribution and the reference to the book).
• Developing and offering a new course on "The Puzzle of European Politics: Democracy, Markets, and International Relations" in Stanford's Continuing Studies Program.
• Serving as adviser to the Commission on Higher Education of the Hamburg State Government ("Hochschulübergreifende Strukturkommission, Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg"). (For a report, in German, of the commission's work and further action on it by the government of Hamburg, click here).
• Developing the notion of "professional schools" as a new structural option in European higher education (for the German text of a detailed chapter on the topic, click here.
• Becoming involved in a variety of contexts in the current German debate on the reform and improvement of teacher education (for a copy of my critique [in German] on the current state of educational research in Germany, in general, and research on teacher education, in particular, click here).
• Chairing, for three years, the jury for the "best practice" award of the Center for the Development of Higher Education (CHE) (for more information [in German], click here).
• Organizing a symposium on "How well do reforms travel? U.S. and European higher education and the international traffic of reform ideas" (with Mitchell Ash, Daniel Fallon, Detlef Müller-Böling, and Botho von Kopp) at the annual meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), New Orleans, March 13, 2003 (click here for a copy of the introductory paper).
• Preparing a paper for a North American-European conference under the auspices of SCANCOR on "Universities and the Production of Knowledge" at Stanford University on April 25-26, 2003. For a copy of the paper, click here.
• Delivering the keynote address at the annual University Convocation of the University of Bielefeld on May 23, 2003 on "The Partnership of Higher Education and Business: The Open Secrets of Silicon Valley" (Der deutsche Text des Vortrags in Bielefeld ist verfuegbar hier als .pdf Datei).
• A guest lecture on "The International Politics of Knowledge" at the New Europe College in Bucharest in June of 2003. For the text of the lecture, click here.
• A special international Policy Forum on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in Paris in June. For the text of my contribution on "Diversity and the Politics of Knowledge", click here.
• Giving the keynote address at the 750th anniversary celebration of the city of Frankfurt (Oder) on July 14, 2003. For the text of the address (in German), click here.
• Presenting a paper entitled "Nicht alles, was glänzt, ist Gold: Pathologies of American Higher Education" at the 2003 Fulbright Educational Experts Seminar in New York on September 22, 2003. For the (English) text of the paper, click here.
• The 2003 International Symposium on Higher Education and Personality Development at the University of St. Gallen/Switzerland in November of 2003. For the (German) Text of my presentation on "'Kulturelle Kompetenz' oder: Die Analphabeten der Globalisierung", click here.
• The evaluation of the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB).
• Membership in a commission on the future of higher education and research in the state of Thuringia (Germany).
• Giving one of the keynote addresses for an international conference on the reform of higher education to mark the 10th anniversary of the Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung (CHE) in April of 2004. The text of the address (in German) is available above under "Recent Writings". On this occasion, I was honored with an award for special contributions to the reform of German higher education over the past ten years.
• Providing the opening address for a conference organized by the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) on new departures in doctoral training. For the text, see above under "Recent Writings".
• Testifying before a special commission (chaired by Wolfgang Schluchter) of the German Wissenschaftsrat on faculty recruitment (see above under "Recent Writings").

EUROPEAN ROUNDTABLE

For a special website on the "European Roundtable", sponsored by Stanford's Continuing Studies Program, and for information on the four most recent European Roundtables on "The Europe of the Intellectuals: The public presence of Europe's cultural elites and their views on today's major challenges", "Stretching the Safety Net: Is the European Welfare State in Crisis?", "Anti-Americanism in Europe" and "The EU in Crisis? Difficult Choices Between Integration and Expansion", click here. Please note that the European Roundtable will in the future take place on a less regular basis.