University Council nominates Prof. Dr. Roger Erb and Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff for election by the Extended Senate
During a public hearing held as part of a meeting of the Extended Senate at Goethe University Frankfurt on Wednesday, two potential candidates for the office of president presented themselves. Following the hearing, the University Council unanimously decided to nominate both candidates for election by the Extended Senate. The election will be held on February 25, 2026.
FRANKFURT. The following candidates are up for election to the office of President of Goethe University by the Extended Senate (listed in alphabetical order):
- Prof. Dr. Roger Erb, Professor of Physics Didactics at Goethe University FrankfurtProf.
- Dr. Enrico Schleiff, Professor of Molecular Cell Biology of Plants and Incumbent President of Goethe University Frankfurt
Prof. Dr. Roger Erb completed his doctoral and postdoctoral qualifications following his teacher education studies at the University of Kassel. After two years working as a high school teacher in Kassel, he served as Professor of Physics and Physics Didactics at PH Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Education from 2002 to 2010, where he most recently held the position of Prorektor for Student and Academic Services. Since 2010, he has been Professor of Physics Didactics at Goethe University Frankfurt, a member of the board of directors of the Academy for Educational Research and Teacher Education (ABL) since 2011, and head of the Goethe Teacher Academy since 2021. At Goethe University, he served as Vice President for Student and Academic Services from 2018 to 2021 and as Dean of the Faculty of Physics from 2022 to 2025. From 2019 to 2023, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the DIPF Leibniz Institute for Educational Research and Information, and since 2025, he has been the Executive Board Member for Science at Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre [Foundation for Innovation in University Teaching].
Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff studied physics at the universities of Prague, Mainz, and Basel, earned his PhD in biochemistry at McGill University (Canada) in 1999, and completed his habilitation in cell biology and botany at LMU Munich in 2003. Following research and leadership roles for early career researchers in Kiel and Munich, he was appointed to a professorship in molecular cell biology of plants at Goethe University in 2007. He has served as Director of the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (BMLS) and the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS), and from 2012 to 2017, he led the International Training Network SPOT-ITN. He was Deputy Speaker of the Excellence Cluster “Macromolecular Complexes” and headed the RMU-LOEWE research focus “DynaMem.” From April 2012 to March 2018, he served as Vice President of Goethe University Frankfurt, overseeing early career researchers, equal opportunities, and academic infrastructures. He has been President of Goethe University Frankfurt since 2021.
Goethe University’s election regulations stipulate that the University Council, with the participation of Senate members, establish a search committee responsible for announcing the call for the position of president and for reviewing the submitted applications. The committee determines which applicants will be invited to a university-wide public hearing. This hearing took place on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, with Professor Erb and Professor Schleiff. It was part of a meeting of the Extended Senate, which is also responsible for electing the president. The Extended Senate is composed of the members of the Senate and their deputies.
After the hearing, the University Council submitted a nomination to the Extended Senate. The election will take place during an in-person meeting of the Extended Senate on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. A candidate is elected if they receive the majority of votes from the 34 members of the Extended Senate, i.e. at least 18 votes. If no candidate secures this number of votes, additional voting rounds will be held.
The term of office for the presidency at Goethe University is six years and will begin on January 1, 2027.
