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The Rector of the University of Konstanz received one of the highest French honours with the "Ordre des Palmes Académiques"

Prof. Dr.
Ulrich Rüdiger

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Rüdiger has received one of the highest and oldest honours that the French State has to bestow. The Rector of the University of Konstanz was conferred the title of "Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques" by the French Education Minister Luc Chatel. He receives the medal in recognition of his "extraordinary services to German-French cooperation in the field of higher education," as stated in the letter sent by the French Embassy in Berlin.

"It is an extraordinary honour and pleasure indeed for me to receive the highly-esteemed and highly traditional honour of a country which is counted among the greatest cultural nations of the world. I would like to very cordially express my deepest thanks for this," said Ulrich Rüdiger on his appointment. "I see the Ordre not only as an honour, but also as a commitment to continue to maintain and expand the partnerships between the University of Konstanz and French institutions," continued Rüdiger. The Order will be conferred in Konstanz on a date yet to be agreed by a representative of the French Embassy.

The Ordre des Palmes Académiques, awarded for extraordinary services to the French education system, was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808 as an official award for university. Since 1866, persons outside the field of teaching have been able to receive the Ordre. The society of members of the "L'Association des Membres de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques", of which Ulrich Rüdiger will be a member, stands under the Patronage of the President of the French Republic and the Grand Chancellor of the French Legion of Honour.