A celebration marking Prof. Dr. Johann Bacher's retirement took place in the JKU’s ceremony room on January 27, 2025. Prof. Bacher was honored for his milestones in research, particularly his accomplishments as an outstanding methodologist and a researcher in the field of inequality. During his farewell speech, Johann Bacher shared insight into his research into educational inequality and educational inclusion in Austria. He not only reflected on twenty years of educational research, he also outlined some of the key challenges facing this field of research in the future.

As a JKU faculty member, Johann Bacher’s commitment and dedication has contributed significantly to advancements at the Institute of Sociology and the Department of Empirical Social Research (AES) since 2004. As Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics & Business between 2013 and 2017, Johann Bacher played a key role growing the faculty. He has been deeply committed to the JKU’s MORE initiative since 2015, a program that gives refugees unique access to higher education. Prof. Bacher intends to continue being involved in the program in an advisory capacity.

Some 250 colleagues, associates, family members, friends attended the festivities, including representatives in academia, government, administration, healthcare, and public services. On behalf of the JKU, Rector Stefan Koch, Dean Gerald Pruckner, and department head Uli Meyer paid tribute to Bacher's academic accomplishments, highlighting his integration efforts at the JKU, along with his open approach to an interdisciplinary mindset and his commitment to social causes.

Employees at the Department of Empirical Social Research reflected on Bacher's broad range of research interests. Along with many current and past students involved in the MORE initiative, program director Sonja Falkner-Matzinger expressed gratitude with regard to Bacher's high level of commitment and dedication to the initiative.

Johann Bacher has been a member of the “Jahoda Group” for over ten years. The group was established at the JKU to raise more awareness about Marie Jahoda's works and accomplishments. Prof. Bacher has played a substantial role in keeping the legacy and accomplishments of this extraordinary empiricist alive.

To mark Prof. Bacher’s retirement, sociologist Meinrad Ziegler and actress Maria Hofstätter honored his accomplishments during a special tribute that included a very moving reading focusing on Marie Jahoda's thoughts and theses about empirical social research. Singer-songwriter Inga Lynch provided musical accompaniment to the reading.