Term of the month: P as in President’s Board

Is the President the CEO of the University of St.Gallen? And is the President’s Board the executive board?

President's Board

The University is managed by the President's Board. Currently, the HSG’s President's Board consists of:

the President,
the Vice-President, Studies & Academic Affairs,
the Vice-President, Research & Faculty,
the Vice-President, External Relations,
Dean of Studies & Academic Affairs,
Director of Studies & Academic Affairs,
Director of External Relations,
the Executive Director,
the General Counsel, and
the Head of Communication.

The President's Board of the University of St.Gallen reports to the University's Board of Governors, the Senate and the Senate Committee. The President's Board supports and advises the President in the exercise of his functions and is thus not an executive board as in a private-sector environment. It meets about fifteen times a year, and its tasks include the preparation of business items for the University's Board of Governors, the Senate and the Senate Committee.

The President is elected from among the full professors for a two-year term of office. In contrast to trade and industry, the President is therefore not a CEO but the so-called "primus inter pares", i.e. the first among equals. He acts in the interest of the University as a whole.

The President fulfils the tasks conferred on him by the University Statutes and other documents. In particular, he chairs the Senate and the Senate Committee and manages the University. He supervises the University Administration and represents the HSG externally. Since 1898, 21 Presidents have left their imprint on the University of St.Gallen.

The University's Board of Governors determines the number of Vice-Presidents. It has agreed on three. Like the President, the Vice-Presidents are elected from among the professors. They have their distinct areas of responsibility within the HSG:

for Studies & Academic Affairs,
for Research & Faculty,
for External Relations.

The President delegates certain areas of the functions assigned to him to so-called President's Delegates, who also advise him. Within their areas of competence, they are responsible for certain issues and also advance them. The University has five Delegates, one each for:

Responsibility and Sustainability,
Quality Development,
the Public Programme of the University of St.Gallen,
University Rankings and Executive Education,
Exchange Programmes.