School of Spiritual Science: new appointments

In January 2018, the responsibility for the General Anthroposophical Section, which had been led by all Executive Council members together since 2000, was transferred to Bodo von Plato, Paul Mackay and Joan Sleigh. After the resolutions at the 2018 AGM, Joan Sleigh offered to continue to lead the Section provisionally for which we thank her wholeheartedly.

In June 2018, a search group (consisting of René Becker, Florian Osswald and Justus Wittich) was appointed which asked for time to consider the options. Given the comprehensive possibilities and tasks of the section in question, the group had many conversations, received numerous letters and explanations and, on 8 March 2019, invited members of the School of Spiritual Science for a public consultation day. At the Leadership retreat in June 2019, the search group submitted their recommendations to the Goetheanum Leadership. Their proposal included among other things a group of three, of which one at least should be a member of the Executive Council. They also suggested that the group work closely with the other sections within the Goetheanum Leadership. After extensive conversations, the search group proposed Constanza Kaliks, Claus-Peter Röh and Peter Selg as leaders of the General Anthroposophical Section.

The proposal was followed by intensive discussions within the Goetheanum Leadership and with the proposed candidates concerning, among other things, the implications these appointments would have for other areas of work and other sections. A first outline of how the three potential section leaders envisage their new task resulted in unanimous support for the proposal at the September retreat.

The new appointments will come into force with the agm at Easter 2020 and the subsequent School of Spiritual Science Easter Conference. Peter Selg will continue to devote most of his time to his task as director of the Ita Wegman Institute and carry the Institute’s anthroposophical basic research into the Section work. Claus-Peter Röh will primarily be responsible for the work of the First Class of the School of Spiritual Science while gradually reducing his activities on behalf of the Education Section before handing that task over. Constanza Kaliks will initially continue as leader of the Youth Section, supported by her energetic and competent team of co-workers, and combine this work with her new tasks as co-leader of the General Anthroposophical Section.

With regard to the Visual Art Section, the Goetheanum Leadership has taken up the recommendations of another search group and unanimously proposed to the Section a possible solution for a limited period of three years, which Marianne Schubert was happy to accepted at the end of a period of consultations. This means that Marianne Schubert will be able to retire at the end of the year as planned, following her active commitment and the network-building she has achieved in her time in office since 2014.

Christiane Haid has also agreed to accept, in addition to the Humanities Section, the leadership of the Visual Art Section for the next three years and form a steering group made up of representatives of the various specialist areas.