The Rise of the Centre of Excellence: Continuities, Transformations and Tensions in Governing a New University Model

Centre of Excellence (CoE) schemes have proliferated across Europe. However, little is known about their organisational arrangements and implications for collegial governance and decision-making processes. This qualitative study focuses on the German case. It describes the organisational model of the CoE in the Social Sciences and Humanities, which differs from the traditional chair structure that characterises the German university, reassembling department. Although professors retain full authority, upholding collegial norms and values appear to be overstretched. The rise of the figure of the CoE leader is indicative of a new form of hierarchisation within professorial rank; professors’ confidence in their leadership abilities is eroded; and a hierarchical gap between professors and early-career researchers emerges.