As the supervisory board, the university council is one of the three central governing bodies of the university, along with the rectorate and the senate. According to the State Law on Education (Landeshochschulgesetz) §20 Paragraph 1, it supports the university, safeguards strategic responsibility, takes decisions on the planning of structure and development, and suggests measures to build a profile and develop abilities to achieve and compete. In addition, one of the important tasks of the university council is to select the main office members of the rectorate, together with the senate.
The university council consists of new members appointed by the Minister of Science. Five members are persons external to the university, including the chair; four members are internal members of the university. The office term of members is three years; a repeated re-election is permitted. Maximum membership is twelve years.
External members:
- Prof. Dr. Daniel Hornuff (Professor of Theory and Practice of Design at the University of Kassel's School of Art), Chair of the University Council
- Prof. Dr. Ines Kleesattel (Head of Research, Head of Research at the Institute of Arts and Design Education at the Basel University of Art and Design FHNW)
- Anja Casser (Director of the Badischer Kunstverein)
- Nico Arfmann, Lawyer, Karlsruhe
- Philipp Ziegler, (Head of the Curatorial Department at ZKM)
- Fr. Dr. Faisst, MWK
Internal members:
- Prof. Susanne Kriemann (Professorin für Code & Image in der Fachgruppe Medienkunst)
- Nina Overkott (Akademische Mitarbeiterin in der Fachgruppe Design)
- Melanie Schillo (Leiterin des International Office)
- Susanne Schmitt (Künstlerisch-technische Lehrerin für Modellbau)
The Rectorate, the Equal Opportunities Officer and a representative of the Ministry of Science take part in the meetings in an advisory capacity.
The university council convenes at least four times annually. The meetings are generally closed to the public.