A team that complements each other in more than just the content: With fascination for the university as a central place of education and for art in all its facets, the Vice Rectorate begins its new term of office until April 2026 - with comprehensive plans and great anticipation because of the diverse activities, which were often restricted due to the Corona pandemic in the past months. " (Art) University is a fantastic place in the best sense: Stage and backstage at the same time, exhibition space and studio, think tank and forum, debating podium and archive. In the new development plan of the Mozarteum University, freedom, making a mark and social responsibility are on the sails. A wonderful challenge for a well-rehearsed team! Strengthened by the reappointment, we can continue our work in constructive dialogue with all responsible bodies, take up élan and dare new things in the competition of ideas. "The Vice Rectorate - three portraits. Hannfried Lucke, Vice Rector for Art In 2000 Hannfried Lucke was appointed Professor of Organ at the Mozarteum University, and since 2018 he has also been Vice Rector for Art. As a renowned organist, he makes guest appearances in many countries in Europe, the USA and Asia. He is the director of the International Summer Academy and the International Mozart Competition. As Vice Rector, he is responsible for promoting internationality and networking in the artistic field at the Mozarteum University. "For the tasks as Vice Rector for the Arts, experience as a musician and artist is a key requirement." Among his most important successes in the past three years are the acquisition of three endowed professorships with Maxim Vengerov (violin), Andreas Scholl (baroque singing) and Ion Marin (conducting). "I would like to continue to attract highly qualified teachers for our institution in order to provide students with a first-class education. Outstanding concert projects, international cooperations and festivals are also important pillars of studies at the Mozarteum." Also worth mentioning is the Pre-College, which gives very young talents access to highly qualified teachers. Hannfried Lucke sees that the status of music in Austria is very special, especially in international comparison, and knows that our university has a responsibility here. The international successes of students and teachers testify to the outstanding quality of the University Mozarteum Salzburg. mario Kostal, Vice Rector for Teaching and Director of Studies Mario Kostal knows the perspectives of students better than anyone else. He has been Vice Rector for Teaching and Director of Studies at the University Mozarteum since 2016. For him, the house has a very special approach to things: "Something new and unexpected happens here every day, and the students can find their own point of view, which distinguishes us art universities significantly from all the others. The house is ringing from dawn to dusk! I am surrounded by art. I also enter my office through a gallery of student works. It gives me pleasure every day to be able to promote that, to participate in it, and to help shape it." That he is a lawyer in the position of vice rector at an art university is quite extraordinary, but his expertise and passion for art are in exactly the right place. "I have been confirmed in my position by the Senate and the University Council four times since 2016 (assumption of office in 2016, new election Rectorate in 2017 followed by interim Rectorate, Rectorate Gutjahr in 2018, re-election in 2021, note). I am very pleased about that, it is a great recognition. You can only wish for something like that in politics," says Mario Kostal with a laugh. With this great support, he and the rectorate team will continue to work together intensively in the coming years, and some projects have already been scheduled for the near future. The filling of professorships remains the central structural development instrument for strengthening and professionally supplementing the profile-forming areas. "Beyond that, however, we have also put a whole range of other topics on our agenda: for example, strengthening and promoting the academic mid-level faculty and expanding inter- and transdisciplinary study programs." For Mario Kostal, this has long been a desideratum, because it allows the university to act across disciplines and create new freedom. Incidentally, Mario Kostal's office is the only one with a "house number"; it bears the number 17a - referring to Article 17a of the Basic Law of the State: "Artistic creation, the communication of art and its teaching are free." If he were to study again, what would it be? "Visual arts, of course!" Anastasia Weinberger, Vice Rector for Resources In the office of Anastasia Weinberger, countless strands of information of the University Mozarteum from teaching, science and art as well as organization converge and are organized, optimized and bundled again by her. Since 2018, she has been Vice Rector for Resources and thus the organizational center of the University Mozarteum. The race director and international sailing referee has already proven over the past three years that she can also apply her expertise in sports to resource management. "Here as there, there are always different energies that you have to get involved with and master: Picking up speed, staying the course, fairness, but also the will to perform in competition are crucial. That's how you stay flexible." Anastasia Weinberger values not only flexibility but also good cooperation in her work. She is a reliable contact person for each of the areas reporting to her, from finance and procurement to personnel decisions and legal issues to IT and facility management. With regard to large projects such as the UMAK construction project at Mirabellgarten, where among other things a unique multimedia laboratory is to be set up, necessary restructuring or the financing of the university within the framework of the performance agreement negotiations, her analytical approach is at the core of every planning process. The trick is to ask the right questions when things are unclear. So the job also demands a certain amount of creativity, as well as equal measures of focus and vision. You have to have a sense of where to go into detail, where directness is needed. And you also have to be able to say no." Working at an art university is "a very nice job" for Anastasia Weinberger, and the feeling behind it is not comparable to other businesses. That's why she also looks forward to the coming years with joy: "We have a great atmosphere in our rectorate team, and in the next few years we can continue the projects we've started and set up many new ones." On a scale of 0 to 100, how much fun is the job? "If you normally score 80 in a job, you must be happy. I'm usually above that." (First published in Uni-Nachrichten / Salzburger Nachrichten on June 5, 2021)
