The Editorial is translated to English by use of UiO GPT.
The rector at the University of Oslo (UiO) is elected by the staff and students, and the election of a new rector and pro-rector takes place from March 24 to April 4. Three different candidates are running to become UiO's next rector: Ragnhild Hennum, the current dean of the Faculty of Law; Hanne Flinstad Harboe, the current dean of the Faculty of Medicine; and Giske Ursin, the current director of the Cancer Registry. It has been a long time since UiO had a rector election campaign with so many candidates, and the election committee has organized an extensive election meeting program. So far, the three rector teams have participated in no fewer than 11 election meetings at various locations at UiO, and in March there will be two more election meetings before the election starts on March 24.
Voter turnout in rector elections has not been very high in the past. In the rector elections in 2013 and 2017, voter turnout among academic staff was 46 and 44 percent, respectively, and among technical administrative staff, it was 47 and 48 percent. Among students, voter turnout in the same elections was 14 and 10 percent, respectively. In the 2021 rector election, the election committee could not find more than one rector candidate, the incumbent rector Svein St?len, and the formal election therefore took place by voting in the university board.
There can be many reasons why many staff and students choose not to participate in elections and thus influence who becomes UiO's next rector. Many probably feel that they do not know the candidates running for election very well and therefore do not know what they stand for in university politics. Others may think that a rector's room for maneuver is limited and that in practice, there is not much difference between the candidates, so it does not matter much who is rector. The feeling that there is not much at stake does not mobilize voter turnout. There is also not a very clear norm at the university to vote in elections for leaders at various levels. It is voluntary to participate in elections for municipal councils, county councils, and the Storting, but many feel that participating is a "civic duty" and use their right to vote for that reason. A similar norm related to participation in the rector election does not exist. Others may be skeptical that UiO elects its top leader and do not want to contribute to legitimizing elected leadership by participating in the rector election.
However, the university and higher education sector faces important challenges, and with these in mind, we should all care about who will lead UiO in the coming years. This is especially true for changes in the sector's financial framework conditions. Both the question of priorities between different institutions and the institutions' internal priorities become more important when we probably cannot expect growth in basic funding. At UiO, the handling of the significant additional costs associated with the Life Sciences Building will be particularly important for the new rector and for the entire UiO. But also the question of what UiO's core tasks are and how we organize ourselves to solve these is important. The same goes for the question of the scope and direction of academic initiatives at UiO. Which academic areas should grow, and which should rather be scaled down? The Ministry of Education's new distribution model makes it very important to have a study program portfolio that maintains high academic quality, attracts well-qualified students who have good academic prerequisites for making good progress through their studies, and is also perceived as relevant for a future working life for young adults. Further development of UiO's studies and learning environment will also be an important issue for the upcoming rector team, regardless of who wins the election.
The rector election is an electronic election, and you can therefore vote from anywhere. A new rector faces many important choices, and both the election platforms and the election meetings show that there are differences, sometimes significant differences, between the different rector teams. Who do you want as UiO's new rector? Familiarize yourself with the election platforms, and feel free to attend the last election meetings. And use your right to vote!
Happy voting!
Read more
- Why do we elect the rector at UiO?
- Election meeting: Grill en rektor! (Norwegian only)
- Election meeting: Who do you want as the new rector at UiO? (The first half of the meeting is in English)