Die Entstehung eines Gesetzes: Österreichische Hochschulpolitik in den 1950er Jahren

Abstract

The article investigates the political debate around the Austrian University Organisation Act from 1955. It focuses on three fields of dispute: The autonomy of the universities, the appointment procedure of professors, and the question of (parliamentary) control of the powerful ministry of education. Based on yet uncovered sources from the Austrian State Archive, the paper explains why, despite suggestions to alter the system at the three "neuralgic" issues mentioned, Austrian higher education in the 1950s remained in firm hands of the conservative elite that dominated Austrian universities.