Email from the Senate to the university community (05.09.2025)

Dear colleagues and students,

At its meeting on July 2, 2025, the Senate elected Ms. Elisa Maria Ilene Mura as the new Representative for Equality and Diversity. Ms. Mura is a clinical psychologist (M. Sc.), currently works as a research assistant in the Faculty of Health in the Department of Human Medicine at Witten/Herdecke University and is self-employed in her own psychological practice. She takes over from Dr. Svenja Hartwig, who has been actively involved in this important function over the past year and a half. We would like to thank Dr. Hartwig for her work and her commitment to the issues of equality and diversity.

We wish Ms. Mura a lot of flair, creative power and joy in her new role, congratulate her on her election and look forward to a good working relationship!

Best regards

Prof. Dr. Sabine Bohnet-Joschko              Dr. Dirk Jakobs

Chair of the Senate                                          Vice President for Organizational Development & Diversity Management

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Dear colleagues and students,

My name is Elisa Maria Ilene Mura (pronoun: she/her). I studied psychology (B.Sc. and M.Sc.) at Witten/Herdecke University, specializing in clinical psychology and psychotherapy. Since 2023 I have been working as a research assistant in the Faculty of Health, in the Department of Human Medicine. There I am involved in integrative health services research.

In addition to my university work, I work freelance in my own psychological practice. I follow a holistic approach in which body, mind and soul are considered as a unit. My work is characterized by appreciative encounters, empathy and open dialogue - both in practice and in my efforts to make diversity visible and strengthen it.

For my new role as Equality and Diversity Officer, I bring a wealth of experience from research, consulting and social engagement. It is important to me to make barriers visible, to further develop structures in a discrimination-sensitive manner and to create spaces for empowerment and exchange. My approach is based on a salutogenetic attitude: Diversity is not a deficit, but a resource. For me, inclusion is not a concession, but an opportunity - for every single person and for our entire community. A more colorful coexistence, in which not only equal opportunities but also equal opportunities are lived, is a benefit for all of us.

I am very much looking forward to working with you to make UW/H an even more visible, appreciative, open and accessible place for the entire university community. I would like to invite you to contact me at any time with questions, experiences of discrimination or suggestions. You can reach me by e-mail at: elisa.mura@spam protectuni-wh.de.

A few personal words about me: I appreciate inspiring conversations and open communication - preferably over a good coffee - and always look forward to learning new things and developing myself further. In my free time, I find balance in art, exercise, nature and music. I like to be inspired by new impressions, cultures and, above all, people.

Everything I do, I do out of personal conviction - be it in research, consulting or in my new role as Commissioner for Equality and Diversity. It is with this attitude that I take office and I look forward to shaping the future together with you.

Kind regards

Elisa Mura