Personality in Residence:
Prof. em. Wolfgang Schürer

Prof. em. Dr. h.c. Wolfgang Schürer's  life took a decisive turn at HSG. Here, he developed his normative compass and acquired the tools for both his professional and voluntary career. The dialogue with academic teachers and mentors had a profound impact on him. They took him seriously as a young student—at least when his views were based on solid arguments.

For Wolfgang Schürer, it became clear that intergenerational dialogue is not a one-way street. Rather, in a time of confrontation—during the years following 1968—a laboratory for listening to one another and engaging in discussions was established: the St. Gallen Symposium. He, too, did not accept authority as a given but challenged it—though always in a constructive manner that fostered mutual understanding. Dialogue, for him, had an impact far beyond the subject at hand—it enabled and required a change of perspective. It was a process of learning: from and with one another. Together, participants embarked on a journey and returned enriched. As both a mentee and a mentor, Wolfgang Schürer personally benefited from these exchanges, gaining insights he could later draw upon. Moreover, this dialogue kept him grounded in reality whenever he strayed too far.