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Inaugural lectures and a ceremonial farewell at Vetmeduni
With “Cue Applause: An Afternoon with Our Professors,” Vetmeduni marked the generational handover on 20 May 2026: new professors offered insights into their research while a long-standing colleague was ceremonially bid farewell.
On behalf of the entire Rectorate, Rector Matthias Gauly welcomed all invited guests in Vetmeduni’s ceremonial hall, including numerous colleagues, family members and friends, students, as well as cooperation partners and representatives of professional associations.
In the panel discussion “Her Time at Vetmeduni,” moderator Mari Lang spoke with Karin Zitterl-Eglseer - an engaging, pointed conversation about the stations, people, and moments that shaped her career.
Zitterl-Eglseer began as a university assistant at Vetmeduni’s Institute of Botany and Food Science, completed her habilitation in 2003 in Applied Botany and Pharmacognosy, and is serving as an Associate Professor at the Centre for Animal Nutrition and Animal Welfare Sciences through the end of the 2026 summer semester.
The afternoon centred on two inaugural lectures - moderated by Andrea Buzanich-Ladinig, head of the Clinical Department for Farm Animals and Transformation of Food Systems: Sonja Hartnack, University Professor of One Health Systems Science (at Vetmeduni since September 2025), spoke on “One Health in Practice: Rabies Control in Uganda.” This was followed by a lecture from Melanie Schären-Bannert. The University Professor of Herd Health Management with a focus on Digital Health Monitoring in Livestock (at Vetmeduni since 2025) presented “The herd as the sum of its individuals - Bovine practice between individual animal medicine and herd health: Quo vadis?”
At the subsequent closing reception with drinks, sparkling wine, and light refreshments, guests, colleagues, and students took the opportunity to converse - accompanied by enthusiastic applause for the past, present, and future of Vetmeduni.
Vetmeduni extends its best wishes and every success!
You can find detailed profiles of our new professors here:
Epidemiologie braucht keine Einzelkämpfer:innen – Sonja Hartnack im Porträt
Nutztiermedizin im Dialog mit der Praxis – Melanie Schären-Bannert im Porträt
all photos: Thomas Suchanek/Vetmeduni
