Scientists and lawyers raise doubts that the Berlin Senator for Justice Lena Kreck (Left) rightly bears her professor title.
“She could not have worked as a professor long enough and thus not have acquired the right to continue the title after the end of her professorship,” Marcel Bisges, Professor of Copyright and Media Law at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences, told the Tagesspiegel.
If Kreck is the unauthorized use of an academic title, it could also be a criminal offense.
First, the magazine “Focus” reported on the case, citing several scientists and lawyers.
The background to the allegations is that Kreck had only been a professor at the Evangelische Hochschule Berlin since October 2019 before she took up her post as Senator for Justice at the end of 2021. The activity lasted only about two years.
However, the Berlin Higher Education Act stipulates that the title may only be retained after the person has left the university if the person has previously worked as a professor in the teaching company for at least five years. “Therefore, a corresponding right to continue using the title of professor cannot result from Berlin university law,” says lawyer Bisges.
The Senate Department of Justice rejects the allegations. Kreck is entitled to bear the title “because in her case the rights and obligations arising from the employment relationship within the meaning of the Berlin Higher Education Act are not suspended,” said Martin Kröger, spokesman for the administration of justice.
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The Senator for Justice has agreed with the Evangelische Hochschule Berlin that she can continue to take exams and hold courses during her leave of absence. “This is actually the case, because Dr. With the permission of the Senate, Kreck continues to review theses,” says Kröger. “She has supervised several theses since then and intends to continue doing so.” In addition, it is planned that Kreck will teach in the form of block seminars in the coming semesters.
This representation was confirmed by the Evangelische Hochschule Berlin. There are “no concerns” that Kreck will carry her title during her time in the Senate. The university announced that it was “expressly agreed” with Kreck that she could continue to take exams and also hold courses.
The senator is currently reviewing several theses. “As a professor with the right to examine and teach, she continues to be an academic member of the university.”
Doubts about the representation are raised by the fact that, according to Kreck’s curriculum vitae on the website of the Senate Department of Justice, her position as a professor ended in 2021. When asked, her spokesman told Kröger that it was a “not current entry” that came from after the handover. “That was before the Senate approved the professorial part-time job in February, which had to be applied for,” said the spokesman.
