Beate Söntgen is Professor of Art History and was Vice President of Research and Humanities in the Presidential Committee (2012–2019) at Leuphana University Lüneburg. She heads the research training group Cultures of Critique as well as, together with Susanne Leeb, the research program PriMus – PhD in Museums. She held a professorship in Art History at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (2003–2011), where she directed, together with Ulrike Groos, the postgraduate program Art Criticism and Curatorial Knowledge, and was Laurenz Professor for Contemporary Art at the University of Basel, Switzerland (2002–2003). She is member of the advisory board of Texte zur Kunst and of the Board of trustees of the Volkswagen Foundation. Publications include books on modern and contemporary art, art theory and criticism.

As of November 2019