Max-Emanuel Geis

Prof. Dr. Max-Emanuel Geis is Chair of Public Law at the Faculty of Law and Economics of Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), a position he has held since the winter semester of 2002/03. He also serves as Director of the Research Center for Science and Higher Education Law at FAU, a role he has occupied since summer semester 2003. Additionally, Prof. Geis is a Member of the Bavarian Constitutional Court, having been appointed in 2018 and re-elected in 2024.

His extensive administrative experience at FAU includes serving as Chairman of the Commission for Conflict Resolution in Scientific Workplaces (2003-2007), Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law and Economics (2011-2012), Head of House of the Law Faculty in Erlangen (since 2013), and Dean of Research of the Faculty of Law (2014-2019). These roles demonstrate his significant contribution to the governance and development of the university.

Prof. Geis's research focuses on constitutional law, administrative law, legal philosophy, and higher education law. He completed his PhD at the University of Regensburg in 1990 with a dissertation on 'Cultural State and Cultural Freedom,' for which he received the Culture Prize of Eastern Bavaria. His habilitation in 1994 examined 'Public funding of social self-help – Constitutional foundations and administrative design,' establishing his expertise in the constitutional frameworks governing social policy.

Prof. Geis has received significant recognition for his work:

• Culture Prize of Eastern Bavaria for his doctoral dissertation
• Appointment and re-election to the Bavarian Constitutional Court
• Chairmanship of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Research Institute for Public Administration Speyer

His expertise is further recognized through his service on important national committees including the Accreditation Committee of the German Council of Science and Humanities and as a reviewer for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Prof. Geis maintains an active role in shaping higher education policy and constitutional governance in Bavaria and Germany.