Honorary Doctorate Awarded to Berthold Beitz

On 17 October 2006, the Faculty of Medicine (University Medicine Greifswald) awarded an honorary doctorate to Berthold Beitz, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation. With the establishment of the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute of Advanced Studies), he made a substantial contribution towards establishing Greifswald as a cosmopolitan meeting place in the Baltic Sea region.

The University of Greifswald honoured Berthold Beitz for his monumental services to the university in various ways: Berthold Beitz is an honorary senator of the university (1991) as well as an honorary doctor of the Faculty of Medicine (University Medicine Greifswald) (2006). The square between the Central University Library and the University Hospital carries his name, and the restoration of the university's central lecture hall building was dedicated to him. On the occasion of the 550^th anniversary of the University of Greifswald, the University paid tribute to him as a major donor, alongside the university's two other most important donors: Heinrich Rubenow, the founder and first Rector of the University of Greifswald, and Duke Bogislaw the Fourteenth, whose donated lands still provide the bulk of the university’s corporate assets today. During the anniversary celebration in St. Nikolai Cathedral, Berthold Beitz was honoured as a major donor with a gold medal depicting Heinrich Rubenow on the front and the University Main Building on the reverse. This medal can only be awarded once and thus underlines Berthold Beitz's unique commitment to the University of Greifswald.

Career

Born near Greifswald in 1913, Berthold Beitz felt a close connection to the region and especially to the university throughout his life. Berthold Beitz had a lasting influence on Greifswald’s development into a site for science and academia. He was uniquely committed to supporting science, research and culture in his former home region, especially in his function as Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees at the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation.

Even before the political turnaround and the fall of the Berlin Wall, Berthold Beitz was building bridges that crossed political boundaries. In 1989 and 1990, the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation decided to provide urgently needed emergency aid to hospitals in the GDR to save them from collapse. The foundation ensured basic medical care, enabled the purchase of new equipment and thus guaranteed medical healthcare in times of upheaval. Further funding programmes for the university's medical section followed in the post-reunification period, in particular for the construction of a clinic for haematology and oncology, the "Community Medicine" scholarship programme and the construction of a hospice and the Neurological Rehabilitation Centre. 

In Greifswald’s historic town centre, Berthold Beitz made a substantial contribution towards establishing Greifswald as a cosmopolitan meeting place in the Baltic Sea region by founding the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute of Advanced Studies). The Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute of Advanced Studies) has become a highly respected venue for academic encounters and the promotion of research, sustainably enhancing the university's profile and integrating it into a broad network of international exchange.

Berthold Beitz was just as active in his support of culture in Greifswald. For example, the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation supports the events that are held as part of the annual Bach Week and the Nordischer Klang festival, it contributed towards financing the acquisition of a painting by Caspar David Friedrich and also supported the Caspar David Friedrich Centre.

In 2013, Berthold Beitz passed away shortly before his 100th birthday.