Zurich rector presides over European university league
Thomas D. Meier, Rector of Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK, has been elected President of ELIA (European League of Institutes of the Arts), the association of European art colleges, in Glasgow, UK.
Thomas D. Meier was elected by the 23-member ELIA Board, which consists of representatives from art academies across Europe. Meier takes office with immediate effect.
The ELIA network has more than 300 members from around 50 countries, represents more than 300,000 students and is linked to comparable organizations in Asia and America.
The election is a positive signal for Switzerland, writes the ZHdK. This is the first time that a president from a non-EU country has presided over the large European network. The new campus in the Toni-Areal has played a not insignificant role in this. One of Meier's goals is to bring the 2018 ELIA Congress to the Toni-Areal in Zurich. The last ELIA Congress in Switzerland took place in Lucerne in 2004.
