I am running for re-election to the University board because I have a strong commitment to the University of Oslo in its heterogeneity rich diversity and breadth. I believe that with my experience and clear academic values, I will be an important voice in the board to prioritise the university's core tasks and strengthen university democracy. In the upcoming period, we will have a new rectorship and possibly an entirely new board, as only the academic representatives (two tenured and one temporary) are eligible for re-election. Although it is management that brings most matters before the board, my experience from the current term is that ordinary board members, especially the tenured academic representatives, have had a significant impact and positively influenced the outcomes of many issues.
I believe that UiO must continue to develop as the clear leading university in Norway for research and education. At the same time, university employees should be clear, knowledge-based voices in public discourse, and management must facilitate staff communication and innovation. To attract the best minds to UiO (and academia in general), I believe there must be attractive career opportunities, and I have actively engaged with this topic. I led the UHR working group that presented a new matrix for evaluating researchers (NOR-CAM) and actively participated in implementing these principles in UiO's personnel regulations as adopted by the board. I have recently been the Norwegian representative in the European Universities Association (EUA) "task and finish group on academic careers," which presented a white paper with five principles for academic careers at the EUA annual meeting in April 2025.
UiO is a knowledge organisation, and that knowledge resides at the lowest organisational levels. During the current term, my consistent contribution to debates in the board has been that the tenured academic staff are the backbone of the university, and decisions that undermine them will weaken the institution.
I am an advocate for a strong university democracy and believe it is best served by the current system where the rector and deans are elected. The basic units (departments and centres) are the cornerstones of the university and must have leaders with solid academic backgrounds who understand and support the staff while safeguarding the autonomy of the tenured academic staff. Leaders at all levels must trust the collective knowledge of those they lead and enable it to be utilised to the fullest extent. This means that the university must facilitate academic freedom and that others besides formal leaders should have a say in prioritisation processes and decisions that affect the university's academic and organisational development.
The financial situation across the sector and increasingly for many units at UiO is concerning. Leadership and others must emphasise to the public the significance of the university to society. At the same time, I believe that given the strained financial situation, we need an even greater focus on prioritising our core tasks.
Presentation and Motivation
I hold a PhD in Molecular Biology from Columbia University, New York, 1994. From 1994 to 2012, I conducted research in immunology at the Faculty of Medicine as a postdoctoral fellow, researcher, associate professor, and full professor (with a sabbatical at Harvard Medical School/Children’s Hospital, Boston 2001/2002). From 2007 to 2012, I was a group leader at the Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR), a Centre of Excellence headed by Ludvig Sollid. In 2009, I became the head of the Department of Molecular Biosciences at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MN), and from 2013 to 2016, I was chair at the Department of Biosciences (IBV), MN. From February 2016 to summer 2017, I served as director of UiO: Life Science and afterward as the research dean at MN. Since March 2019, I have been back at IBV as a professor, teaching molecular biology, cell biology, and immunology, and conducting research in comparative immunology.
I have served on numerous boards, national committees, and working groups, including the follow-up committee for the disciplinary evaluation of biology and health sciences (Research Council of Norway, 2011-12), and the NOR-CAM working group (UHR, 2020-2021), as chair of Digital Life Norway (DLN, since 2017), as a board member at UiO (2021-2025), board member at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (2021-2025), and a member of the EUA Task and Finish Group on Academic Careers (2024-2025).
From early in my career, I have been engaged in how academic environments develop and are supported, as well as in knowledge policy in general. As a leader, I have always placed great emphasis on the views of the academic staff regarding strategy and management, making my best efforts to listen on academic matters. Now, I want to be the voice of the academic staff on the University Board.
Nominators
- Kristian Gundersen, MN
- Steven Ray Wilson, MN
- Petter Bae Brandtz?g, HF
- Ludvig Sollid, MED
- Geir Kjetil Sandve, MN
- Shuo-Wang Qiao, MED
- Frode Lars Jahnsen, MED
- Dag Olav Hessen, MN
- Marianne Fyhn, MN
- Melinka Butenko, MN
- Kjetill Sigurd Jakobsen, MN
- Paul Grini, MN
- Anders Malthe-S?renssen, MN
- Andreas Carlson, MN
- Kristin Asdal, SV