Third Time Lucky! | 2003 |
Around the turn of the century, Mid Sweden University made some important investments in additional professors, doctoral students and doctoral studies. The third application for full university status focused primarily on the field of human sciences. The application was amended three times.
- An awful lot of work went into the three applications, says Maria Nyberg Ståhl, who followed the whole laborious process closely, among other things as part of the Vice-Chancellor’s staff.
The process followed the previous pattern, and when the conclusions of the panel were presented, it became clear that the requirements were higher than during the previous assessments and when the applications of the other three new universities’ were approved. Therefore, the panel’s report caused feelings of dejection and indignation, and continued efforts to achieve full university status.
As an example, there is a letter that Sune Svanberg, a professor of Physics at Lund University and a member of the Mid Sweden University Board, wrote to the Minister for Education and Science, Thomas Östros. He wrote: The instructions given by previous panels have been followed and exceeded ... What I find disturbing is that after having flung oneself at the bar and cleared it easily, one discovers that it has been raised significantly.
After a strong finish, including among other things complementing documents written by Vice-Chancellor Gunnar Svedberg and the University Board, on 31 January 2003, the government finally decided that Mid Sweden University would be awarded full university status on 1 January 2005.