Organisational structure of Faculties and Institutes
Faculties
Faculties are considerably independent inside the USI organisational structure in terms of education and research. Their main structure is described in USI Statute and includes the following bodies:
- Dean’s office
The Dean’s office is formed by the Dean and Associate Deans. The Dean, assisted by the Associate Deans, leads and manages the Faculty by implementing the decisions of the Faculty Council and the Board of Professors. The Dean represents the Faculty in the University Council.
- The Faculty Council
The Faculty Council rules on all matters related to the Faculty’s general interest, in particular on education and research. It implements study plans and regulations, defines the search criteria for open academic positions, and appoints the Faculty representatives within the University internal and external bodies. Chaired by the Dean, the Faculty Council includes all permanent faculty (Full, Associate, Assistant, and Adjunct Professors), student representatives, and junior academic representatives (assistants, clinical Professors, Architects and Design Studio staff members, research fellows, teaching assistants and lecturers).
- Board of Professors
The Board of Professors (also known as the restricted Faculty Council) identifies the Faculty members that are called upon to sit in a commission for the appointment of professors, assigns courses to lecturers, and proposes the awarding of Honoris Causa and Professor Emeritus. It is chaired by the Dean and includes all Tenured Professors (Full and Associate).
For specific details and peculiarities on the organisational aspects of each Faculty and Institutes and Laboratories please refer to their relative statutes:
- Statute of the Academy of Architecture (in Italian)
- Statute of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences (pdf, in Italian)
- Statute of the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society (pdf, in Italian)
- Statute of the Faculty of Economics (pdf, in Italian)
- Statute of the Faculty of Informatics (pdf, in Italian)
- Statute of the Faculty of Theology of Lugano, affiliated (pdf, in Italian)
The Management Committee
The Management Committee coordinates relationships among the Faculties and between Faculties and the Rectorate. It assists the Rectorate in managing the University, and it is formed by members of the Rectorate and by the Faculty Deans.
Current Deans:
Walter Angonese
Director of the Academy of Architecture
Graduated from IUAV in Venice, he has taught at the University of Innsbruck, and was Visiting Professor at Wien, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Munich, Zurich, Milan, Porto and Viseu. He has received many awards for his work as an architect. He has been Director of the Academy of Architecture since 1 September 2021.
Giovanni Pedrazzini
Dean of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences
Giovanni Pedrazzini is co-Head of cardiology at Cardiocentro Ticino and Full professor at the USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences. He completed his medical studies at the University of Lausanne and then specialised in Internal Medicine and Cardiology in Bern and Zurich. He has been active at Cardiocentro Ticino since its opening in 1999, first as Head of the interventional cardiology service, then as Deputy head and finally as co-Head of cardiology. Since 2012, he holds a venia legendi at the University of Zurich. Author of numerous scientific publications, Giovanni Pedrazzini is a member - among others - of the Swiss Society of Cardiology, of which he is President, the European Society of Cardiology, the Swiss Society of General Internal Medicine and the Medical Doctors Association of the Canton Ticino. He is Dean of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences from January 1st, 2021.
Luca M. Visconti
Dean of the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society
Luca M. Visconti is Full Professor of Marketing at USI IMCA (Institute of Marketing and Communication Management) and at ESCP Europe, Paris. He is Lecturer at IFM (Institut Français de la Mode) and Sciences Po, Paris. Prior to his current appointment, he was Full Professor at ESCP Europe (2011-2017) and Lecturer in Marketing at Università Bocconi (1999-2011), where he received his Ph.D. in Business Administration and Management. He has been Visiting Scholar at Leeds School of Management, University of Colorado (2004-2005), and at École Supérieure des Affaires, Université de Lille2, Lille (2007-2008 and 2010). Since September 2020, he is Dean of the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society.
Giovanni Pica
Dean of the Faculty of Economics
Giovanni Pica is Professor of economics at the Faculty of Economics, Institute of Economics (IdEP), Director of the Master in Economia e politiche internazionali (MEPIN) and Vice-Director of the Master in Economics (ME). After completing his PhD at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, he held positions at the University of Southampton, the University of Salerno and the University of Milan. He is also affiliated with Centro Studi Luca D'Agliano, CSEF, and fRDB. His research concentrates on the labour market effects of financial market imperfections, globalisation and labour market institutions. He is currently working on the role of internal capital and labour markets within organisations, on the effects of non-tariff measures on the behaviour of firms, and on occupational licensing. His work has been published, among other journals, in the Review of Economic Studies, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Economic Journal, the Journal of European Economic Association, the Journal of International Economics. He is Dean of the Faculty of Economics from 1 September 2023.
Marc Langheinrich
Dean of the Faculty of Informatics
Marc Langheinrich (1971) is a Full Professor for Computer Science at USI, where he heads the Research Group for Ubiquitous Computing since September 2008. He received a masters degree (Diplom) in computer science from the University of Bielefeld, Germany, in 1997, and his PhD (Dr. sc.) from the ETH Zürich, Switzerland, in 2005. Starting in the fall of 1995, he spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Washington, where he also completed his thesis work in the fields of information retrieval and software agents. In the fall of 1997 he joined NEC Research in Tokyo, Japan, where he worked on projects involving personalization and electronic commerce. From Oct.’99 to Aug.’08 he was a researcher at the Institute for Pervasive Computing at the ETH Zürich, Switzerland. His main research interests are privacy, security, and usability issues, in particular in the areas of ubiquitous and pervasive computing. He has been Dean of the Faculty of Informatics since 1 September 2021.
René Roux
Rector of the Faculty of Theology of Lugano, guest
René Roux, a native of Aosta Valley, pursued philosophical-theological studies and became a presbyter in 1991 in the diocese of Aosta. He later specialised in patristic theology and oriental studies in Rome, Oxford, and Paris. From 2000 to 2003, he taught Patrology and Dogmatics at the Istituto Teologico Sant'Anselmo in Aosta. He has since taught in various locations, including Rome, Africa, India, and Germany. Since 2010, he has been the Chair of Ancient Church History, Patrology, and Oriental Ecclesiastical Sciences at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Erfurt, where he also served as Vice-Dean and Dean of Studies. He is a member of both the Scientific Research Commission and the Teaching Commission of the same University. In 2015, he was appointed Rector of the Faculty of Theology of Lugano and left Germany to assume the position. Two years later, he was elected president of the AAPU (Association of Accredited Private Universities in Switzerland). Since 2018, he has been a member of the Commission théologique et œcuménique (CTO) of the Swiss Bishops' Conference. His research areas include the history of patristic hermeneutics and biblical interpretation and their importance for the history of dogma. He also explores ancient Syriac theology and its connection to the theology and culture of the Greek Church and other ancient traditions. Additionally, he examines theological models of thought from antiquity and their relevance in modern times. His work also explores the reception of the theology of the Church Fathers in today's theology, with a particular focus on the theology of religions.
Institutes
According to the USI statute, Institutes are defined as training and research units supported by one or more Faculties, subject to approval by the University Council.
The responsibilities, tasks, organisation and members of the Institutes are defined by specific agreements between the Faculties and the Rectorate. These agreements set the scope and limits within which an Institute can engage in its own right with third parties. The contract has limited duration and is renewable. The Institutes do not have a distinct legal personality and are headed by a Director appointed among professors (Full or Associate) of the Institutes, according to the terms of agreement.
They can be:
- institutes of the University;
- institutes affiliated to the University – subject to the University strategies while maintaining administrative autonomy;
- joint institutes
- institutes associated to the University – institutional collaboration between the University and the entity in the areas of interest, not involved in the University strategic planning and maintain administrative autonomy.
Specialised sub-units can be created inside the Institutes (centres, observatories, laboratories), with the aim of carrying out specific research projects.
