At an extraordinary board meeting today, January 30, the University Board decided to withdraw the proposal to the government to nominate Ole Petter Ottersen as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg. The reason is that Ottersen is still participating in the recruitment for Vice-Chancellor at Karolinska Institutet, KI.
Ole Petter Ottersen, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Oslo, wrote to the University Board on Sunday that he is no longer interested in the position as new Vice-Chancellor at the University of Gothenburg. The reason given is that he is taking part in the recruitment process for new Vice-Chancellor at KI.
The University of Gothenburg Board held an extra meeting on Monday to discuss the situation. A unanimous board decided to withdraw its recommendation to propose Ole Petter Ottersen.
Furthermore, the University Board assigned Cecilia Schelin Seidegård, Chair of the University Board, to ask Eva Wiberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Lund University, if she is still available for the position as Vice-Chancellor at the University of Gothenburg.
– The board had two very strong candidates to consider. Had we known that one of them was active in another recruitment process, our decision would have been different, says Cecilia Schelin Seidegård.