Koryčánek will not be the dean of the Brno Faculty of Architecture, he has resigned

Brno - Rostislav Koryčánek will not become the dean of the Faculty of Architecture in Brno. Although he was elected by the academic senate, he informed the rector of the Brno University of Technology, Petr Štěpánek, today that he will not insist on the appointment. Koryčánek told ČTK. According to him, there are two reasons. One of them is his expiring role at the House of Arts in Brno, and the other is the reluctance of some professors and associate professors who opposed his appointment. They threatened to leave, which would cause problems for the faculty. Koryčánek will now work at the Moravian Gallery in Brno. According to Štěpánek, he had the right to make such a decision.
    "I am finishing at the House of Arts and I need to secure my family's livelihood. Therefore, I will take a position at the Moravian Gallery in Brno. Another reason for my decision is that the whole matter has taken a form that is unacceptable to me. I am doing this to protect my own dignity," Koryčánek stated.
    Rector Štěpánek will consider further steps. "I have no choice but to accept the decision. The faculty must announce new elections and will elect a new candidate for the position of dean," said Štěpánek. According to him, all necessary legislative requirements should be completed within three months. The situation may be complicated by the ending term of the academic senate. "It would extend the deadline, but from a procedural standpoint, there would be no issue," Štěpánek added. From his perspective, there was no problem at the faculty. "The faculty has entrusted leadership, it has functioned until today and will continue to function," the rector emphasized.
    The academic senate elected Koryčánek back in May, but some professors and associate professors objected that he is neither an architect nor an engineer and that he was not connected with the faculty. They also pointed out that he does not have doctoral education. According to the school’s board of directors, the dean should be a recognized academic worker who is active in fields directly related to the focus of the faculty. However, Koryčánek does not consider this the main reason. "That was just a representative issue. The previous dean also did not have architectural education, but he did have engineering," Koryčánek noted.
    According to him, he disagreed with some professors and associate professors regarding the management of the faculty. "Many of them expressed opposition to my involvement and do not share my view that the school should undergo changes. It should become more open and capable of reflecting what architecture should address today and what it should bring to students," Koryčánek stated. He added that the interest in studying at the Brno faculty is declining. "Students are no longer seeking the school as much, and this is evidence that it must undergo changes regardless of whether I am there or not," he emphasized.
    Students viewed the actions of some educators as backstage pressure. They wrote a petition and organized a protest march. They emphasized that they are not fighting for Koryčánek, on whom they have various opinions, but for democracy at the faculty. The rector already called for unity and the search for common ground in a statement to the academic community in July.
    Koryčánek is an art historian, engaged in architecture in its broader contexts. He led the House of Arts in Brno, is behind the project of the Brno Architectural Manual, and has previously been the long-time editor-in-chief of the magazine Era21.