Farewell to our Founding Rektor Laurence Nodder

On June 13th, we said farewell to our founding Rektor Laurence Nodder and his wife, Art and TOK teacher Debbie Nodder. After ten years of serving as Head of Germany’s first and only United World College, Laurence will retire from his formal roles both at RBC and in UWC International, handing over the headship to our current Vice Rektor Dr. Helen White.

For the celebration in Freiburg’s Historisches Kaufhaus as well as the Münster, we welcomed guests from all parts of Germany and from all over the world including our Freiburg city mayors Dr. Christine Buchheit and Martin Haag, the Chair of our Board Dr. Christof Bosch, Baden-Württemberg’s former Minister of Culture and Education Dr. Helmut Rau, UWC International Director Faith Abiodun, the Braun Family (B. Braun Melsungen), our shareholders UWC Deutschland and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, represented by Dr. Christian Hodeige and Dr. Bernhard Straub, as well as many donors and friends of the College.

During his time in Freiburg, Laurence was a frequent visitor to the Münster and hardly missed a Saturday organ concert; thanks to Freiburg’s Münsterbauverein and the organist Jörg Josef Schwab, we were able to host a farewell concert for Laurence in the Münster, with a selection of musical pieces designed for him, including improvisations based on moments in the couple’s life.

Laurence was the founding Rektor of UWC Robert Bosch College since its inception in 2014; together with his team, he founded and shaped RBC into the special place it is today. Prior to coming to Germany, he led the Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa for 14 years, and worked in various schools in South Africa and Lesotho, almost always in the school leadership team. Laurence’s life as an educator was initially shaped by the fight against Apartheid which expanded to his educating for peace and understanding; in Freiburg, he additionally supported sustainability education. Under his leadership, the school was able to grant every student a scholarship based on their needs and independent of their financial background.

We would like to wish Laurence and Debbie only the best for their paths post-RBC – thank you for ten years together!

For those who wish to read more: in April, Laurence Nodder spoke to our local newspaper, Badische Zeitung. The result is a moving protrait about his life and work: Rektor Laurence Nodder verlässt das Freiburger UWC – und geht in Ruhestand (veröffentlicht am Fr, 03. Mai 2024, 14:00 Uhr auf badische-zeitung.de)