Angela Dorrough elected Pro-Rector for Research and International Affairs

Translated from Angela Dorrough zur Prorektorin für Forschung und Internationales gewählt,  published 02.07.2026

The University Electoral Assembly of the FernUniversität in Hagen has elected Prof. Dr Angela Dorrough, by a large majority, as the new Pro‑Rector for Research and International Affairs.

The University Electoral Assembly is composed equally of members of the Senate and the University Council. Rector Prof. Dr Stefan Stürmer had nominated Angela Dorrough for the position. The Professor of Behavioural Economics and Intercultural Psychology succeeds Prof. Dr Torsten Linß, who stepped down from the office of Pro‑Rector for personal reasons.

Excellent researcher with international experience

“By appointing Angela Dorrough, an outstanding researcher is taking on the office of Pro‑Rector. Over the course of her career, she has already received a number of significant awards and grants,” said Rector Stefan Stürmer. “In addition, she has gained valuable experience through numerous collaborations with universities and research institutions both within Germany and abroad, which she will now be able to contribute profitably to the university’s leadership. With her background as a first‑generation academic, she is an excellent fit for the FernUniversität, which stands for advancement through education. I warmly congratulate Professor Dorrough on her election and very much look forward to working with her.”

The congratulations were echoed by the Chair of the Senate, Prof. Dr Thomas Bedorf, and the Chair of the University Council, Christiane Schönefeld.

The newly elected Pro‑Rector, Angela Dorrough, said: “I am very grateful to the University Electoral Assembly for the confidence it has placed in me. I would like to continue strengthening the FernUniversität’s existing research profile. It is particularly important to me to deepen its interdisciplinary orientation and to expand its networks with other research institutions in Germany and especially in North Rhine‑Westphalia. Our aim should be to create the conditions for academic excellence across all our disciplines. Internationally, I intend to further develop our existing partnerships within the European university alliance OpenEU, with universities in southern Africa and in south‑eastern Europe, while also enhancing the FernUniversität’s international visibility. On a personal level, I am delighted that the FernUniversität makes it possible to combine a leadership role with a fulfilling family life.”

Profile

Prof. Dr Angela Dorrough studied Economics as well as Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies and Psychology in Bonn. She earned her doctorate in Psychology at the University of Göttingen in 2017. In 2022, she completed her habilitation at the University of Cologne.

In addition to positions as a research associate at the universities of Bonn, Göttingen and Siegen, she was a visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods in Bonn from 2015 to 2017. From 2016 to 2018, she worked as a research associate in the Department of General Psychology – Judgement, Decision‑Making, Action at the FernUniversität. In 2018, she moved to the University of Cologne. In 2024, she was appointed to the newly established Professorship of Behavioural Economics and Intercultural Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology of the FernUniversität in Hagen as part of the German Research Foundation’s Heisenberg Programme. She is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Social Cognition Centre of the University of Cologne.

Her research has been recognised with several awards, including the Leo Spitzer Prize for Early‑Career Researchers at the University of Cologne. In 2025, she won the OECD Anti‑Corruption Research Challenge. She serves as a reviewer for more than 30 international academic journals and is a member of the board of the European university alliance OpenEU. At the FernUniversität, she is, among other roles, DFG Liaison Lecturer, Deputy Chair of the Ethics Committee, Head of the Open Science Initiative and a member of the Doctoral Committee of the Faculty of Psychology.

Angela Dorrough has two children aged one and three.