University of Bucharest (UB) rector candidates Christian Preda and Marian Preda participated on Monday, December 4, in a debate moderated by UB Senate President Claudio-Paul Buglea. Both teachers and students were present in the hall, as well as those who have the right to vote, asking questions of the two candidates. “Why are you so attached to the position?” – Christian Preda asked his opponent.

During the debate, Cristian Preda, the current dean of the Faculty of Political Science in Bucharest, asked his opponent Marian Preda, who is the current chancellor of the University University, why he “holds on to his position so strongly”.

“Mr. Rector, you were the president of the Senate for four years, now you have worked as rector for four years and want five more years as rector. Total: 13 years. Isn’t that a lot? (…) You will retire before the end of the term of office for which you apply. Why are you clinging to your position so much?”, Marian Preda was asked.

The current UB rector assured Christian Preda that he would not remain in the position of rector “not even a minute beyond the statutory retirement age.”

“Mr. Dean, I see you are counting all my mandates. I was the dean of the faculty for only eight years. I made a promise in college that I wouldn’t stay again, and I stayed for eight years. I think you were dean for more than eight years. Pull yourself together (…). Why are you gathering the presbytery of the Senate for the rectorate? Each time I publicly spoke against a larger number of mandates (…). I guarantee you that I will not stay one minute past the statutory retirement age. Then come, apply and maybe get two months of work, Mr. Dean,” replied Marian Preda.

The full debate between the two candidates can be viewed HERE.

Marian Preda: “In a year we will be in front of UBB”

Regarding the ranking of the University of the University in international rankings, Marian Preda said that in the coming years, the University of Bucharest will surpass the University of Babes Bolyai (UBB) from Cluj-Napoca.

“This year we managed to climb all three important charts. We are the only major university that has risen to the top 1000-1200 universities in both QS (ed.: QS World University Rankings 2024), Shanghai (ed.: Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities) and Time Square. Education. And we returned to Time Square Education more than 350 seats against UBB. They have only 17 seats left. In a year, we will be in front of UBB. Not that I’m putting too much stock in the graphics, but it’s up for debate. I think in the next five years we will definitely reach 800-1000 in the best Shanghai and also in QS. And we will continue to be in even better places in our fields of activity,” the rector assured.

Rector of UB: “I don’t believe in strikes and I don’t believe in trade unions”

When asked by Christian Preda about his initial stance on the teachers’ strike in June – when the University’s current chancellor said he did not stand in solidarity with the teachers demanding higher salaries – Marian Preda said he did not believe in strikes and unions.

“The problem is teachers’ salaries. I don’t think we need to go to the streets without going through all possible stages of negotiations. This thing remains valid (…). Yes, I don’t believe in strikes and I don’t believe in unions. Read Marshall. It’s not you who wants to see what he says about unions: that they introduce parallel citizenship in countries where we don’t have high levels of employment, high levels of unionization, like the Nordic countries, where yes, they are also unionized at the national level and negotiate for all. Unions bargain for several. We have a trade union level in Romania below 7%,” answered Marian Preda.

There is a shortage of cooks in student canteens in Bucharest

The two candidates were also asked about the services offered by the student dining halls, and Christian Preda said that when something doesn’t work, it needs to change.

“I believe that in general, if the service does not meet expectations, it should be changed. Not only in the cafeteria, but also in any other part of the university (…). If they cook poorly, you have to change the cook, it’s elementary. I don’t think there are seven solutions,” answered the dean of political sciences.

The current rector explained that Bucharest has a problem with finding cooks for student canteens.

“The problem with the canteens, and this is one of the most difficult problems to solve, is that we cannot find cooks at the salaries that the Government allows us to pay at the university, plus a maximum of 30%. In each shift, I held two positions as office managers for the cooks. The offices were abolished by law. I don’t agree with that, but we have to respect the law, or the Court of Accounts will come. As a result, I pay them three or four times more in HoReCa in Bucharest than here, and we only have one qualified chef, the other one is used as a cook, although he is not a qualified chef,” said Marian Preda , adding that efforts have been made to establish canteens.

Christian Preda: UB will offer accommodation in dormitories to all students coming to Bucharest

When asked about the state of the dormitories and what they would like to improve in this regard, if they receive rector’s powers, the candidates answered differently.

Christian Preda put forward the idea that all students who choose to study at UB would be guaranteed a place in the dormitory.

“I think we should set a goal, and in my opinion, one of the advantages of UB is to offer housing to all those who need it when they come to Bucharest. This is something we can aim for. We count how many entrants in the last 10 years needed housing, we see what the minimum number is to ensure that minimum security. I think that should be the goal. (…) We can purchase buildings, that is also an option,” said Christian Preda.

On the other hand, Marian Preda wanted to clarify the investments made in this direction recently.

“All the dormitories in Bucharest, those in Magurele, remained, I will explain right away, renovated at the university, with the exception of two floors. Replaced mattresses older than four years, replaced about 400 refrigerators so that students no longer come with old refrigerators bought from previous ones, possibly with bugs. We have a hostel that is starting, it is financed, 200 million lei, between hostels A and B and Grozăvești and the fence in Carrefour (…). We have another project for which we did not find funding, also in Grozavesh. The right wants to settle down, we will support them. We will turn the building in Dumbrava Roșie into a guest house. In Măgurele, we repaired as much as we could,” explained the current UB rector.

• PHOTO Student dormitories in Bucharest. What happened after the students were accused of poor housing conditions and security. The case of Grozavesta

Who is Marian Preda?

According to his resume posted on the UB website, Marian Preda previously served as president of the UB Senate from 2015 until taking over as rector. Before that, he was the dean of the Faculty of Sociology and Social Assistance. Marian Preda has a doctorate in sociology and, according to his resume, “his doctoral dissertation was on social policy.”

Who is Christian Preda?

Christian Preda has served as dean since 2019, according to his resume. He was a member of the European Parliament for 10 years, between 2009 and 2019. He announced his candidacy in a post on Facebook, where he wrote that his management project “can return UB to the top 500 universities in the world.”

Politics, the common point of the two opposing candidates

Marian Preda and Cristian Preda crossed paths in the past and politically. Marian Preda was the president of the People’s Movement Foundation, which laid the foundations of the People’s Movement Party (PMP), which Christian Preda later joined as a member of the European Parliament.

Marian Preda resigned from the People’s Movement Foundation “for personal reasons” just two days after Elena Udrea took over as head of the PMP.

• VIDEO Wave of resignations in the People’s Movement Foundation led by President Marian Preda: It is impossible to change the political class in Romania from the inside, changes must come from the outside

Cristian Predu was later expelled from the PMP by a “unanimous vote”, accusing him of causing “image damage” to the party. In 2019, he joined the PLUS party, formed by former Prime Minister Dacian Cholos.

• VIDEO PMP expelled from the party by “unanimous vote” the MEP Christian Preda

Election calendar

The election calendar for the elections of the rector of the University of Bucharest is as follows:

• November 22-27, 2023 – submission of applications;
• December 6, 2023 – the first round of elections;
• December 13, 2023 – the second round of elections
• December 13/20 – a meeting of the Senate to recognize the elections as valid

At the referendum organized in May of this year, it was decided that the UB rector would be elected “on the basis of general elections, general, direct and secret voting” (almost 85% of votes). Another option was the appointment of the rector “by public competition” (15% of votes).

How many mandates can rectors have

The new Law on Higher Education 199/2023 provides in Article 138, Clause 5: “The term of office of the rector is 5 years. A person cannot hold the position of rector in the same higher education institution for more than two terms.”

However, this norm began to be applied only from September of this year, when the law entered into force. So, if the rector has had two mandates so far, he can run for two more, because the law does not prohibit this.

On the other hand, in the Statute of the University of Bucharest, amended by the Senate in September of this year and approved by the Ministry of Education, it is stipulated in article 120, paragraph 3:

“A person cannot be a rector for more than ten years, regardless of the period of authority, their breaks and the circumstances under which these breaks took place.”

So, for example, the current UB rector Maryan Preda can still run for one mandate.