Dr Christoph Schlünken elected president of the Förderverein Hochschule Rhein-Waal
Board member of ALTANA AG succeeds Dr Matthias L. Wolfgruber
Executive members of the supporters organisation Förderverein Hochschule Rhein-Waal e.V. have elected a new president. Dr Christoph Schlünken succeeds Dr Mathias Wolfgruber, recently retired chairperson of ALTANA AG, a special chemicals group based in nearby Wesel, Germany. Dr Schlünken, who is also a current member of the Board of Directors of ALTANA AG, is now the official Representative of the 50-strong university advisory board composed of key figures from the business world, politics and civil society.
Dr Cristoph Schlünken, who was born and raised in Duisburg and earned a PhD in chemistry, has worked in key leadership positions at ALTANA AG for over 15 years. As a member of the company’s Board of Directors, Dr Schlünken has been responsible for the areas of Innovation Management, Key Account Management and Central Purchasing since 2014. One of his major focuses is encourage intensive collaboration between regional companies and Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, for example through practical semesters, thesis papers and joint research projects. Dr Schlünken also supports the University in maintaining good contact with alumni, because, in his own words, graduates are “business cards for the University and for the Lower Rhine”.
Dr Stefan Dietzfelbringer, Chair of the Förderverein Hochschule Rhein-Waal, spoke well of the previous president of the supporters club, Dr Matthias L. Wolfgruber, praising his efforts to support the development of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences: “The level of personal commitment, with which Dr Wolfgruber supported the growth of this University, is known and appreciated far beyond campus grounds. Dr Wolfgruber’s appointment to the University Council by the Ministry of Science (North Rhine-Westphalia) is proof of this appreciation.”
Dr Wolfgruber has been the president of the supporters organisation since 2009. The Förderverein Hochschule Rhein-Waal was founded at the same time as Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences through an initiative of regional businesses, as well as the communal governments of Kleve and Wesel, in order to support efforts to establish the University as a new regional presence. Today some 150 companies from the Lower Rhine region, 13 communal governments and countless private supporters are active members in the University network.