March 28, 2018
Jacobs University is mourning the loss of its former Wisdom Professor Stephan Leibfried, who passed away at the age of 74. “As a distinguished political scientist, he inspired many of our students,” states Jacobs University’s President Professor Michael Hülsmann. “We are very saddened about the loss of a farsighted and committed personality.”
Professor Leibfried worked as a Wisdom Professor at Jacobs University from 2011 until 2017. Leibfried, who studied politics and law in Berlin, started his academic career at University of Bremen in 1972. Two years later, he became Professor specializing in social policy and social administration. Among other things, he co-founded at headed two Collaborative Research Centres and was significantly involved in the founding of the ZeS (Centre for Social policy Research) at the University of Bremen.
Leibfried also played a key role in the evolvement of the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), jointly run by the University of Bremen and Jacobs University. “Our university is much obliged to him and will always honor his memory,” says Adalbert Wilhelm, Vice Dean of BIGSSS and Professor of Statistics at Jacobs University. “And we extend our condolences to his relatives“.