Seven honorary doctorates and one honorary councillor at the University of Basel’s Dies academicus 2025

The Faculty of Theology awarded artist Samuel Buri an honorary doctorate for his unique work, which reinterprets Swiss landscape painting. His contemporary religious art combines texts from the Bible with pictorial depth and brings to life the joy of the sensual world and spiritual expression through poetic painting.

The Faculty of Law awarded emeritus Professor Regina Kiener an honorary doctorate for her lifelong commitment to the rule of law, fundamental rights and the independence of the judiciary. With her groundbreaking work on constitutional law and her public activities, she has had a lasting impact on Swiss legal culture.

The Faculty of Medicine awarded emeritus Professor Janet Hering an honorary doctorate for her pioneering research into drinking water quality and the relationship between environment and health. She has established interdisciplinary water research at the highest level and has shown great commitment to diversity and equal opportunities in science.

In recognition of her fundamental research on European and Japanese textile techniques, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences awarded an honorary doctorate to the late Noémi Speiser, who passed away in September 2025. Her precise analyses and classifications have shaped our understanding of textile culture and combine scientific precision with artistic sensitivity and intercultural perspectives.

The Faculty of Science awarded Sabine Himmelsbach an honorary doctorate for her outstanding communication of scientific topics through art. As Director of the House of Electronic Arts in Basel, she promotes dialogue between art, technology and society and strengthens Basel’s position as a center of digital culture.

The Faculty of Business and Economics honored Professor Hélène Rey, OBE, FBA for her groundbreaking contributions to international macroeconomics and financial policy. Her research on the global financial cycle shapes economic policy discussions around the world and combines theoretical excellence with high social relevance.

The Faculty of Psychology awarded Professor Inez Myin-Germeys an honorary doctorate for her innovative contributions to the understanding of mental disorders. Her research into the interaction between the individual and their environment and her digital methods for recording everyday processes have shaped modern psychiatry.

For the first time, the University of Basel has named Dr. Peter Lenz an honorary councillor at this year’s Dies academicus. The University of Basel awards the title of honorary councillor to individuals who have rendered outstanding services to the university.

Peter Lenz was named an honorary councillor for his outstanding commitment to his alma mater. As the founder of the legal alumni association Pro Iure, the first president of AlumniBasel, a supporter of young academics and an initiator of humanitarian projects, he is a prime example of individuals who are not only committed to academic progress, but also to humanity and openness, and who take on social responsibility.

The University of Basel’s Alumni Prize 2025 was awarded to Dr. Eric Scheidegger, Deputy Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and Head of the Economic Policy Directorate. He received the Alumni Prize 2025 for his outstanding accomplishments and longstanding commitment to Swiss economic policy.

The Alumni Prize is awarded to former students of the University of Basel who have distinguished themselves through notable accomplishments in society, academia, economics or culture, and who have thus contributed particularly to the positive image of the University of Basel in the public eye.

A number of other prizes were awarded on the occasion of the Dies academicus. The Amerbach Prize, sponsored by the University of Basel, was awarded to Dr. Elisa Rottner at the suggestion of the Faculty of Business and Economics. She received the prize for her dissertation on companies’ responses to climate policy measures and their impact on sustainable economic policies.

The university’s Sports Prize, sponsored by Baloise, went to Roberto Delorenzi, a bachelor’s student in sport, exercise and health, for his outstanding achievements in international trail running and mountain running.

The Emilie Louise Frey Prize for the funding of young female academics, sponsored by the Basel section of the Schweizerischer Verband der Akademikerinnen (Swiss Association of Female Academics), was awarded to PD Dr. Claudia Lenz for her habilitation thesis on the visibility of MRI findings in strangulation victims and their significance for forensic medicine.

The following faculty prizes were presented to a number of junior researchers for outstanding doctoral theses and studies:

• The Faculty of Theology prize to Dr. Rebekka Schaetzle
• The Faculty of Law prize, sponsored by the law firm Vischer, to Dr. Christapor Yacoubian
• The Faculty of Medicine prize for the best thesis for a medical doctorate, sponsored by the university hospitals, to Dr. Manina Etter; for the best PhD thesis, sponsored by the Margot and Erich Goldschmidt & Peter René Jacobson Foundation, to Dr. Sara Bettonte
• The Humanities prize of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, sponsored by the L. and Th. La Roche Foundation, to Dr. Catrina Langenegger
• The Faculty of Science prize, sponsored by Adobe Research (Schweiz) AG, to Dr. Julian Arnold and Dr. Valeriia Hutskalova
• The Faculty of Business and Economics prize, sponsored by the Basler Kantonalbank Foundation for the promotion of economics research and teaching at the University of Basel, to Dr. Pascal Kündig
• The Faculty of Psychology’s Steven Karger Prize, sponsored by the Karger Publishing Foundation, to Dr. Antje Frey Nascimento

Dr. Aleksandra Blagojevic received the prize sponsored by Professor lrma Tschudi-Steiner for the best pharmaceutical dissertation written by a scientist.

The Young Talent Prize of the student association “Schwizerhüsli”, sponsored by the Ferdinand Neeracher-Pfrunder Foundation, was awarded to MA Michèle Valérie Ernste, of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Further information

Matthias Geering, University of Basel, Head of Communications & Marketing, tel: +41 61 207 35 75, mobile: +41 79 269 70 71, email: matthias.geering@unibas.ch

Images

Photos of the celebration at St. Martin’s Church, Basel, will be available in the Media Database from Friday afternoon, 28 November 2025.