Grand Decoration in Gold

Grand Decoration in Gold awarded to WU Rector Christoph Badelt

On January 11, 2011, Christoph Badelt (59), Rector of WU and former President of Universities Austria (uniko), was awarded the Grand Decoration in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria.

Christoph Badelt was presented with the Grand Decoration in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria during the uniko New Year’s Reception on Tuesday evening. The respected economist has headed Europe’s largest business and economics university since 2002, and was recently re-elected for a further four-year period. This important decoration was awarded to him for his unflagging commitment to improving Austria’s educational and academic system.

Professional career

Christoph Badelt was born in 1951 and began his studies at WU Vienna in 1970, where he remained until completing his doctoral degree in 1976. His academic career began with an assistant professorship at the Institute for Economic Theory and Policy, followed by several years as a guest professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the University of Klagenfurt. He then returned to WU as a Full Professor for Economic and Social Policy, where his research focused mainly on social policy issues – from volunteer work to nonprofit organizations. From 1997 to 1998, he was Head of the Economic Faculty. Until becoming Rector of WU in 2002, he acted as Vice-Rector for Infrastructure. In addition, he was also the President of Universities Austria from 2005 – 2009, and was voted Austria’s Scientist of the Year in 1999.

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