Against the backdrop of a ceremonially decorated auditorium at CZU, the inauguration of the university’s new rector, Professor Michal Lošťák, took place on Tuesday, 31 March 2026. Witnessing the occasion were the rectors of nineteen Czech universities, representatives of public and private institutions, members of the university’s academic community, and other distinguished guests. The inaugural act symbolically confirmed the rector´s appointment as head of CZU – a university with growing potential in fields of science connected to the challenges of the future.
The ceremonial gathering also provided an opportunity to introduce the university’s new vice-rectors and vice-rectresses, and to formally install the newly elected Dean of the Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Professor Eva Vlková, and the new Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Professor František Kumhála, into office. Among the guests was also the Chair of the Czech Rectors Conference, Professor Milan Pospíšil, who delivered a speech of greeting.
Michal Lošťák succeeded Petr Sklenička as leader on 1 February 2026. Earlier this February, Sklenička was appointed Chair of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR). He had led the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague since 2018 and helped bring it to its current excellent standing as a university with great potential and prestige both at home and abroad.
“Eight years ago, I promised a strong and successful university. I am convinced that we have succeeded in fulfilling that commitment and that the reputation of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague has risen significantly since then,” Petr Sklenička noted, adding: “Just as a good farmer should pass on the farm to his successors in better condition than he received it, I also believe that I am handing over to the incoming rector a university that has improved in all monitored areas. I am pleased that today it is stronger in every respect than when I took it over. I am leaving with a great sense of satisfaction and with the belief that, in time, the same will also be achieved by the new rector, Professor Lošťák.”
Petr Sklenička was thanked by the promoter of the inaugural assembly, Vice-Rector Jiří Remeš, for his efforts, which contributed to CZU’s reputation as an internationally recognised research and educational institution. “At the same time, on behalf of all of us, I thank you for your tireless and sincere efforts to make CZU a true alma mater for its students and teachers. For that, you and your team deserve our great and lasting gratitude,” Jiří Remeš emphasised.
As a sign of continuity in the development of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague and as a symbol of all the rights vested in the rector of CZU, Michal Lošťák received the golden chain from the hands of Pavel Michálek, Chair of the Academic Senate. After taking the rector’s oath and receiving the insignia, Professor Lošťák delivered his inaugural address, in which, through fairy-tale parallels, he called for the university to continue developing as a leading research-oriented higher education institution with a strong international reputation in its fields of activity. He also underscored what makes CZU unique today in a world marked by the erosion of values and meanings.
“Through its essential connection with agriculture and forestry, and thus through its direct bond with nature, the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague has become a guardian of meaning. Agriculture, forestry, and the natural world are not things that we could switch on and off at the push of a button. They are not easily changed. They cannot simply be eroded or relativised. In agriculture, forestry, and nature, a different logic applies—one in which we make decisions about our survival. Without living nature, humanity will not exist. That is the clear meaning with which we work today at CZU and which we safeguard. Therefore, we have no choice but to offer clarity and obviousness of meaning. For this rootedness in the clarity of meaning, we owe a great debt of gratitude to our predecessors. For us, it also represents a great commitment not to allow the relativisation and erosion of meaning,” Michal Lošťák said in his inaugural speech, which he concluded with the words: “Let us restore meaning and purpose to what is slipping away from us. Let us shape clear and precise meanings. I believe this is the essential mission of universities from their very beginnings.”
A short concert enhanced the ceremonial atmosphere of the inaugural assembly at its conclusion. A powerful artistic experience was provided to the full auditorium by the String Quartet of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, consisting of Alexej Rosík (first violin), Martin Tupý (second violin), Karel Untermüller (viola), and Štěpánka Kutmanová (cello). They performed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Divertimento in D major, in three movements: Allegro, Andante, and Presto. And with that, the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague entered a new stage under the leadership of Professor Michal Lošťák and the team of vice-rectors and vice-rectresses he selected as his closest collaborators.
