Organisation
Until recently, the Leopoldina members were divided into two departments: natural scientists and physicians. However, world-wide scientific developments and societal changes prompted the Academy to include also natural science and medicine borderline areas with close links to empirically founded behaviourally oriented, social, economic and psychological disciplines without adopting the humanities in the true sense in their system of subject sections. Thus several new sections were founded and some existing ones were merged. The Academy expects these measures to result in an even stronger inter- and cross-disciplinary integration of its events, committees and commissions.
The Academy currently comprises 28 sections. Each member belongs to a section corresponding to his discipline. Scientists are elected members who represent subject areas corresponding to the Leopoldina’s section structure and who have distinguished themselves by demonstrating academic excellence.
The sections are grouped into four classes in order to promote interdisciplinary discussions among the members. All Senators of a class elect a section representative of their class as class representative.
The Presidium comprises: the President, four Vice-Presidents, two Secretaries and up to five further members. All Presidium members are elected by the Academy Senate. The President and the Vice-Presidents form the executive board in the legal sense.
Under the supervision of the secretary-general the Leopoldina office carries out the current affairs of the Presidium.
The Senate consists of one elected representative of each of the 28 sections and one elected representative respectively from Switzerland and Austria. As senators, they represent the interests of the members in the Senate. In addition, up to ten further personalities in leading positions representing research organisations or other research funding institutions belong to the Senate. Honorary members of the Leopoldina belong to the Senate in an advisory capacity.
Contact
Academy Office
Phone: +49 - 345 - 4 72 39 - 0
Fax: +49 - 345 - 4 72 39 - 19
leopoldina@leopoldina-halle.de
