FAU mourns its former Chancellor Dr. jur. h.c. Thomas A.H. Schöck

He was Chancellor of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) for over 25 years – and yet so much more to the University than that. Even after his term of office, he remained closely connected to his alma mater – as advisor, patron, and friend. Now the former Chancellor of FAU has passed away at the age of 77. The University mourns a unique individual.

Thomas A.H. Schöck’s retirement on June 30, 2014 was in reality only a formality. For even in the years that followed, he was always there when his university needed him: As an advocate, mediator, representative, or advisor, he continued to champion FAU as a matter of course, at the university where he had previously served as Chancellor for over 25 years – making him the longest-serving Chancellor in Bavaria overall.

From internationalization to gender equality

Even during his active years of service, he had achieved a great deal for FAU: With wisdom, diplomatic skill, and great heart, but above all with his subtle and self-deprecating humor, which never left him even in turbulent times, he shaped the development of FAU as head of the administration. He accompanied FAU on its path from a professor-led university to a competitive and internationally visible university.

As a modern Chancellor, he gave decisive impetus for innovation and new approaches in higher education management. He was also emphatically committed to gender equality. Under his leadership, in 1989, one year after he took office, the first University Women’s Representative was appointed, as provided for by the amendment to the Higher Education Act. As a result, he played a decisive role in the introduction and further development of numerous gender-equality measures – from the founding of the Equal Opportunities Working Group and the Target Agreements Working Group to the “Family and Science” Association and the establishment of the Family Service. Balancing work and family was a major concern for Thomas A.H. Schöck. With tenacity and patience, he set in motion projects such as the first daycare center at FAU – financed from the university’s own funds. It is thanks in no small part to his commitment that in 2008 the Free State of Bavaria honored FAU for having the best concept of a university with regard to the gender-equality mandate.

Thomas A.H. Schöck consistently advanced the internationalization of FAU, including at the structural level. He promoted close institutional cooperation with numerous universities abroad, creating opportunities for highly qualified students to complete a recognized part of their studies in countries such as Canada, the USA, or Australia. During his term of office, funding through the DAAD also grew at an above-average rate.

His particular commitment also applied to patents and accounting as well as to university medicine in Erlangen. Over several years, he contributed his expertise as chair of the respective working groups within the Speakers’ Committee of Chancellors of German Universities.

“Audiatur et altera pars” – the other side should also be heard: This legal principle, which he liked to quote, was important to Thomas A.H. Schöck. It determined the way he made decisions and took on responsibility. Before forming a judgment, he wanted to know the different perspectives. Listen, weigh up, then decide – he expected this from others as well, not least from the press.

Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger, President of FAU, looks back with great appreciation on his collaboration with Thomas Schöck: “I experienced Thomas Schöck as an exceptionally precise and farsighted person. He was well-read, politically experienced, and had a very clear view of the bigger picture. He wanted to get to the bottom of things and thought beyond the next problem. From him I learned to see the University as a whole, rather than looking only at individual interests or the next step. He recognized early on how important IT would become for FAU, and worked to ensure that academic careers and family life could be better reconciled. I greatly valued his advice. He knew FAU like few others and clearly stated what he considered right. We will miss him greatly.”

For FAU Chancellor Christian Zens, Thomas Schöck remained an important companion even after the end of his term of office: “I was able to count myself fortunate that, after taking office almost ten years ago, I encountered in Thomas Schöck a former Chancellor who eased my entry into the responsible task of leading one of Germany’s largest universities with his advice. He opened up his extensive network in the region, but also beyond, always with the conviction that FAU also bears a social responsibility.”

Academic career with many facets

An academic career was not initially the focus of Thomas A.H. Schöck’s résumé: After studying law and economics, Schöck initially worked as a research assistant at the Chair of German and International Tax Law, Finance and Budget Law at FAU. Afterward, he was employed at the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance and the Bavarian State Chancellery.

In 1988, the then FAU President Nikolaus Fiebiger was so convinced of Schöck’s abilities that he brought him to FAU as Chancellor. There he successfully held the position at the interface between the ministry and university administration until 2014.

In 2008, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Cross of Merit on Ribbon) by the Federal President, and in 2020 he received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Law at FAU.

Additionally, Thomas A.H. Schöck was a member of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria as well as a board member of the KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt Foundation, which he accompanied on the path of reorganizing the responsibilities of the university and the foundation. Most recently, he served, among other things, as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nuremberg University of Music.

Musician with passion

Despite his workload, Thomas A.H. Schöck’s passion, however, was by no means devoted solely to his profession: In his free time, the music enthusiast and Bellini connoisseur was active as chairman of the Fürth Teachers’ Choral Society, as a board member of the Windsbach Boys’ Choir Foundation, and of the International Gluck Society.

His commitment to the remarkable educational project “Classroom Under Sail” was also more than an official interest. With this project, FAU sends school students around the world for six months aboard the topsail schooner “Thor Heyerdahl”. From this involvement grew a personal passion for sailing, which he was able to indulge on one voyage or another.  

Thus, alongside responsibility and creative drive, his life also included music, the wind in his sails, and open horizons – and perhaps it was precisely this mixture that was part of what made him so special as a person.

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