Friends of the University

Following a suggestion made by University President Karl Pestalozzi in Liestal, Hans Hafen spearheaded the founding of a new organization, the Friends of the University of Basel, in 1993, with Werner Schneider as president. Among the reasons for its founding was a need to prepare for a 1994 referendum seeking approval for the university’s new legal form and an increase in Basel-Countryside’s contribution, which had been fixed at a certain amount.

Werner Schneider had served as the first member of the Kuratel, the university’s oversight committee, from Basel-Countryside (from 1976 to 1995), was a long-standing municipal executive, member of the cantonal parliament (from the FDP), and a recipient of an award given by the Vereinigung für eine starke Region, or Association for a Strong Region. Hans Hafen was the principal of Münchenstein High School. One reason for creating the association was to prepare for the 1994 referendum, which sought approval for the university’s new legal form and an increase in Basel-Countryside’s fixed contribution to the university budget. However, the association had to campaign again in a second Basel-Countryside referendum to secure wide approval for the University Agreement on 11 March 2007, which established full parity in sponsorship.

The approval of nearly 85 percent the referendum received reflected the recognition the university enjoyed in Basel-Countryside and the broad understanding of the university’s needs. After securing Basel-Countryside’s cosponsorship of the University of Basel, the association was able to slightly revise its original objectives in November 2007 to adapt to the changed situation.

The new objectives were defined as follows: as a nonpartisan and independent association, the Friends of the University seeks

• to support initiatives aimed at a robust, nationally and internationally competitive University of Basel
• to promote the understanding that a strong University of Basel is beneficial for all social groups in the region and provides essential stimuli for the networking of the economy, culture, and society in the Basel area

Achieving the association’s goals
The association works, on an ongoing basis, to emphasize the university’s achievements and its importance to all social groups in the region through events, its own newsletter, and regional media involvement. It aims to ensure that both supporting cantons are equally recognized as with the same rights and responsibilities, and to maintain connections with regional economic circles and relevant federal authorities. This entails seeking out the involvement of political, economic, and social decision-makers from the region and the federal government.

At the end of 2004, the presidency was handed over to Jean-Luc Nordmann from Arlesheim, the former head of BIGA and a university graduate. Rudolf Messerli is currently the editor of the biannual bulletin Uni Plus. Today, the association has around 550 members, including over thirty legal entities. The archive for the early years is housed in the State Archives in Liestal.