History of the Centre
This page outlines the development of the Centre, including its leadership, organisational placement and staffing over time.
For an overview of current activities, see the About the Centre page.
Establishment and early development
The Centre was established in 1997 as part of a government initiative. Until 2018, it was part of the University Specialised Centres (USV), a university-wide organisational structure at Lund University.
Between 1999 and 2016, the Centre was located at Ideon. It moved to its current premises in Lund in January 2017. For practical information about visiting the Centre, see the contact page.
Directors of the Centre
The Centre has had the following directors:
- Dr Stefan Brehm (2025–present)
- Professor Marina Svensson, 1 October 2016 – 30 September 2025
- Professor Roger Greatrex, 2003–2016
- Professor Michael Schoenhals, 1997–2003
Organisational placement
In 2017, Lund University decided that all centres within the University Specialised Centres (USV) would be reassigned to faculties. After careful consideration, the Center chose the Joint Faculty of Humanities and Theology, where it has been placed in the Department of History since January 2019.
Staffing development
Until 2012, the Centre did not have permanent lecturers and relied primarily on postdoctoral fellows and externally funded researchers.
Since then, it has developed a permanent academic staff while continuing to host postdoctoral fellows and externally funded researchers. This development has strengthened both teaching and research activities at the Centre.