Dr. phil. Friedegard Föltz as Vice Rector

In mid-July 2024, the Board of Trustees of Friedensau Adventist University elected Dr Friedegard Föltz as Vice Rector. This means that the university once again has a complete and effective management team. The new election had become necessary because the predecessor, Prof Andreas Bochmann, had resigned from office in the spring. Rector Prof. Dr Roland Fischer congratulated Dr Föltz and expressed his anticipation of a good and effective collaboration.

Dr phil. Friedegard Föltz was born in Berlin in 1961 and grew up near Hanover. After graduating from high school in 1981, she studied social pedagogy in Darmstadt and Bremen. She obtained her diploma in 1986. From 1987 to 1988, she completed a postgraduate degree in "Teaching Social Sciences and Art" at the University of Bremen. From 1988 to 1990, she studied at Andrews University in Michigan (USA) and graduated with a Master of Arts in Religion. In her Master's thesis she dealt with "Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt's Theology of the Lord's Supper in the Context of Luther's Theology of the Eucharist".

She has worked at the Friedensau Adventist University in the School of Social Sciences since 2001, initially as a Lecturer from 2001 to 2010 and as a Lecturer in Social Sciences since 2010. She has headed the Internship Office since 2012 and the B.A. Social Work study programme since 2016. She is Erasmus+ university coordinator and elected counsellor. In her dissertation, which she successfully defended in 2017 at Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg, she dealt with the topic: "Creating normalcy – micro studies on the situation of foster mothers and fathers in dealing with the special needs of children and youth with disabilities".

Her research at the university focuses on child and youth welfare and foster care, in particular special care for children and youth with disabilities. She has initiated specialised conferences at Friedensau Adventist University. Her particular expertise lies in research on foster care, which is deepened by personal experience (Text: Andrea Cramer).