On the disappearance of the former HSG rector Alfred Meier
Rector Professor Alfred Meier has died at the age of 85 after a serious illness. In the years 1978 to 1982 he was not only a nice rector of the University of St. Gallen, but also witty. This is how he figured out how to further develop the Alma Mater sangallensis without scandals and background noise.
Obituary Alfred Meier grew up in Winterthur and studied at the University of St. Gallen after high school. He devoted his dissertation to the “commercialization of culture”. He then worked in the management consulting department of the Institute for Business Economics and as scientific secretary of the Federal Commission for the study of problems in long-term financial planning. In 1966 he studied finance for two semesters at Harvard University and spent the summer of the following year at Stanford University to study currency and monetary theory. In St. Gallen he became full-time professor of economics in 1968, full-time director of the Institute for Finance in 1971, associate professor of economics in 1972 and was appointed professor in 1974. As rector, thanks to his popular manners, he was considered a figure of internal integration. Externally, he made himself known as a competent and down-to-earth scientist who was able to express himself brilliantly. Under his direction the Rectorate became a collegial body and the Senate Commission became the management centre. Since 1992 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of Creditanstalt St.Gallen (CA, today acrevis), from 1996 to 2005 as Chairman. In 1997 he was chairman of the Federal Commission for Economic Affairs.
Again and again he appeared as the original speaker. At Dies Academyus 2009, for example, he explained that HSG shouldn’t just be a bazaar of ideas. You must also be affiliated with a behavior training camp. He enjoyed socializing and was an excellent conversationalist thanks to his proverbially dry sense of humor. His numerous publications also contributed to his popularity. In addition to scientific publications, he also addressed lay people in newspaper articles on current affairs. As a result, he was more present in the population than almost all rectors after him. Alfred Meier retired in 2000. He was then able to pursue his hobbies, German and English literature as well as hiking and travelling. ⋌we
