Universität Koblenz-Landau | |
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Active | October 1990–1 January 2023 |
| Budget | € 41.5 million[1] |
| Chancellor | Michael Ludewig |
| President | May-Britt Kallenrode |
| Vice-president | Harald von Korflesch,Gabriele Schaumann |
| Students | 17,764(2022)[2] |
| Location | ,, Germany 49°12′16″N8°06′31″E / 49.20444°N 8.10861°E /49.20444; 8.10861 |
| Website | www.uni-koblenz-landau.de |
TheUniversity of Koblenz and Landau (German:Universität Koblenz-Landau) was aGerman public university located inKoblenz andLandau,Rhineland-Palatinate, which primarily focused onteacher education.
Formed in 1990 following the merger of severalschools of education in Rhineland-Palatinate, the university was unique in Germany in that it had two campi that were on opposite ends of the state and essentially functioned as two separate universities, complete with their own staff, administration and student culture, with little to no interaction with its counterpart. To not privilege one campus, the president's office and central administration were located in the state capitalMainz.
After years of criticism of this convoluted, inefficient and expensive structure, the state restructured its universities, leading to the university to formally disband in 2023. The Koblenz campus was repurposed as theUniversity of Koblenz, while the Landau campus was merged with the much closerTechnical University of Kaiserslautern to form theUniversity of Kaiserslautern-Landau.
Despite being one of the youngest universities in Germany even when it was closed, the University of Koblenz and Landau traced its legacy back to the early 20th century. As early as 1903, the government ofPrussia founded theKöniglich Preußisches Lehrerinnenseminar Koblenz [de], a facility to train female teachers located in the suburb ofKoblenz-Oberwerth [de]. With the fall of Prussia following World War I, the institution was closed in 1925 and reopened as aschool of education (Pädagogische Akademie) in 1937, where teachers of both genders were trained until 1960, when it was upgraded to the rank of a college (Pädagogische Hochschule). In 1969, six of these institutions in Rhineland-Palatinate, located in Koblenz, Landau, Mainz,Neuwied,Kaiserslautern, andWorms, were merged to form theErziehungswissenschaftliche Hochschule Rheinland-Pfalz (EWH). In 1978, the latter three locations were closed, while the Mainz location forspecial education was merged into theUniversity of Mainz.[3]
In October 1990, the EWH was closed and restructured as theUniversity of Koblenz and Landau.[3] Still primarily focussing onteacher education, the university also addedpsychology andcomputer science, while the institute for special education was again relocated from Mainz to Landau. In total, the university featured eight faculties:pedagogy,philology andcultural studies,mathematics undnatural science, as well as computer science were located in Koblenz, while in Landau special education, cultural andsocial studies, natural science andenvironmental studies and psychology were taught.[4] To not privilege one campus, the president's office and central administration were located in the state capital of Mainz. This led to a structure unique in Germany.[3]
Since 1990 the number of students had more than quadrupled.[3] There were almost 18,000 students[2] registered by the time the university was closed, making it the second largest university in Rhineland-Palatinate after the University of Mainz.[3] To accommodate them, the Koblenz campus left its established location in Oberwerth and relocated to the premises of the now-closedPionier-Kaserne (Metternich) [de] inKoblenz-Metternich [de] in 2002, while the Landau campus also saw the addition of multiple new buildings in 2004.[3] Both campi were further expanded in the 2010s.[3]
After years of criticism of the convoluted, inefficient and expensive structure with three separate locations, the state decided to again restructure the university in 2019. On 1 January 2023, the Koblenz campus was formally repurposed as theUniversity of Koblenz, while the Landau campus was merged with the much closerTechnical University of Kaiserslautern to form theUniversity of Kaiserslautern-Landau and the Mainz office was closed, officially disbanding the university. According to a spokesperson of the university, both new institutions would profit by getting more funds, staff and faculties, making them more capable of competing with universities from neighboring states.[5]
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