Prof. Dr. Ineta Dabašinskienė Elected as VMU Rector

Today, on 27 March, the Council of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) has chosen the new head of the university. Prof. Dr. Ineta Dabašinskienė has been elected as the rector. She is the first woman to be elected to this position.

The VMU rector is elected for a five-year term in accordance with the Law on Higher Education and Research of the Republic of Lithuania, the VMU Statute and the election organizing procedure approved by the VMU Council. Prof. Dr. Dabašinskienė’s term will begin on 1 October.

Five candidates participated in the election of VMU Rector: Prof. Dr. Ineta Dabašinskienė, Prof. Dr. Julija Kiršienė, Prof. Dr. Ričardas Krikštolaitis, Prof. Dr. Tomas Krilavičius, and Prof. Dr. Audrius Sigitas Maruška. 

Academician Ineta Dabašinskienė is Professor at the VMU Dept. of Lithuanian Studies, Doctor of Philology, Head of the Intercultural Communication and Multilingualism Research Centre, and Institutional Coordinator of the Transform4Europe Alliance.

She has been working at the university since 1993; her previous positions include the head of the Dept. of Regional Studies, Dean and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. The professor has been a member of VMU Senate since 2010; in 2010–2015, she served as the chair of its scientific committee. From 2015 until 2020, Prof. Dr. Dabašinskienė was VMU's Vice-Rector of International Relations. She has been actively involved in research and educational projects, is a member of various organizations, and has held lectures at universities in Europe, the U.S., and China. The professor also previously worked as Vice-President of the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies. Her research interests include psycholinguistics, applied linguistics, multilingualism, pragmatics, and conversation analysis. Prof. Dr. Dabašinskienė has published monographs and research in Lithuanian and international publications.

“My vision is to build a future Vytautas Magnus University which would be not just an institution for imparting knowledge, but also the epicentre for nurturing free and honourable individuals, developing authentic thought, and promoting the principle of good will. It is a university which takes care of its community members, encourages science, creativity, and innovation, and has a positive impact on society”, the newly elected rector said.

Prof. Dr. Ineta Dabašinskienė emphasises that, over the last decade, VMU has strengthened its position in the academic environment both nationally and internationally: the community has earned the most prestigious awards in research and arts, there's been a particularly high increase of international R&D projects, the number of high-level artistic performances has risen as well; the university's international rankings have been increasing, participation in European university alliances (TRANSFORM4EU) has been becoming stronger; the achievements of the students and graduates have also provided VMU with international recognition. Notably, VMU has been entrusted with coordinating the Lithuanian consortium of 12 research and business institutions that has signed an agreement with the world-leading Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA). The university's leadership is also evident in the shaping of education policies and providing expert proposals to (non)governmental, business, and other institutions.

In her planned program of the university's activities, the rector outlines her main priorities: a responsible community, open studies, ambitious research, and resilient infrastructure. In Prof. Dabašinskienė's view, this will help not only in seeking solutions to complex issues but also in striving for progress and growth.