Was this the vision you had when you accepted the task nine years ago?
I wanted to aim for three things: long-term thinking, transparency and coordination. The intention was to head somewhat in the same direction while maintaining the breadth of the department.
Do you think you succeeded in your intentions?
Yes, now we have a researcher council, a budget committee, a recruitment committee and a long-term perspective in our plans.
We also have a steady recruitment of doctoral students, thanks to stable finances. Previously, there was some instability as any surplus was to be returned to the faculty.
We are ahead of other departments in many ways. Soon we will have one third of the whole faculty’s external research grants, despite having only 11–12 per cent of the students. Several million crowns are continuously rolling in to our successful researchers and research teams.
The renovation of the Eden building was also important; we now have good premises, but it was a long and difficult process. Until the study centre is built, Eden fulfils that function for the whole faculty. Without the Eden building, it would have been very bad.
Your goal was to have a broad organisation while all pulling in the same direction: do you think it has worked in an organisation that is growing at such a rate?
Yes, of course it is a challenge. External funding means that you take people on with shorter terms of employment. We had twelve postdocs last summer, now fourteen or fifteen on two-year appointments. There is no magic formula, but you have to try and ensure that they quickly get into the organisation and feel involved.
Research assistants are the other big growth group. Before there were none at all. Now I don’t recognise everyone who comes into the common room. That is one way of dealing with a situation where a lot of money comes in to the department – but the building is rather crowded.
We have tried to rent space in other buildings nearby – but the proximity of colleagues and the benefits of a shared lunch room should not be underestimated.
You described how research funding now is much higher than student revenues; what does that imbalance mean for education?
The greatest benefit comes from the exchange between research and teaching. The students gain a great deal from meeting teaching staff who are involved in research, who are on the cutting edge and have a lot of exciting things to share.
The saying “as long as you have pupils you are learning” is also true and applies as long as you have students as well. When you have to explain something, you start to really think about it. We strive for balance between teaching and research, and the fact that we have grown and got inspiration from how things are done in other countries also gives us many opportunities to develop.
When I started my research studies almost 40 years ago, the department was completely Lund-based and had only one female senior lecturer, so there has been a revolution here. Today we have a completely even gender distribution among our professors. This ensures diversity in both education and research.
Now that we are on the subject of women/men: during the autumn, a debate has taken place in the media about the Department of Political Science’s rule of thumb on a 40/60 per cent ratio between female and male authors on required reading lists. Explain why this rule of thumb is in place and will remain.
It is the result of our gender equality and equal opportunities work. We wanted to achieve something with a simple rule that encourages you to think about the composition of required reading lists. Do they reflect the actual state of the literature, or is it merely habit that leads to women with equally valid texts not being equally visible?
There have been gross exaggerations in the media. That this was about gender perspectives or a binding rule is simply incorrect. We are not controlled by any gender church, we are ecumenical. (Read the statement by Tomas Bergström, the teaching staff representatives, the dean and the director of studies here.)
Have any other departments set similar rules that you know of?
There are similar ambitions, but we have perhaps been more consistent at our department. There are certainly voices saying that gender equality should emerge organically, but what if it never does?
What has been the hardest thing to deal with during your years as head of department?
The hardest issues are human resources issues that can sometimes take up a disproportionate amount of time. Conflicts and antagonism that must be investigated, long and numerous meetings in various constellations. The vast majority of human resources issues are problem-free, but some take up enormous amounts of time.
Another difficulty is the increasingly high demands made on heads of department to conduct systematic work. Fire safety, work environment and similar issues are important, but it often feels as though the documents we are to produce are more important than the work itself. And it takes up a lot of time when you want to focus on the here and now.
Could administrative managers be a possible way of having enough time to do more?
A head of department is elected; the advantage is that no one can say “you don’t know anything about this”. The head of department knows exactly what it is about. It could work if you have someone who also knows that part, but leading a department is like herding cats. There are many independent wills.
What has been the best thing about being head of department?
To see that things are going well for people and that we are heading in the right direction. We are a department that we can be proud of, we do a lot of good work. We were quick to have a good website, quick to develop major exchange activities, we have more people in the teaching academy than most, good research and a lot of energy which has been used for positive things instead of fighting each other.
What is your next step?
Now I will have some repatriation time, finish writing, catch up with reading, and so on. I will continue to work here at the Department of Political Science, albeit in a smaller office.
What advice do you have for Björn Badersten and Lisa Strömbom who are now taking over after you?
None at all. They can do exactly as they like. As my predecessor said: I am here, but I won’t meddle. If they need help I am here and will of course step up. But as of January, I am “Mister Nobody.”
