Professor Václav Havlíček had been leading the university from 2005 to 2014 and had contributed to the development of its educational, scientific, artistic and creative activities. Under his managerial leadership, CTU´s ranking in evaluation of world universities rose to among the top 5% of universities in the world. During his mandate, new parts of CTU appeared, such as Faculty of Information Technology, new university institutes and a joint center of physical education and sport was established. He has been a longtime supporter of the ideas of Josef Hlávka and as a representative of the Czech Technical University he contributed to the visibility of Josef Hlávka´s legacy among academic staff and students. Professor Havlíček also holds the state award, which he recieved from the President of the Czech Republic in 2012.
Since 1996, the Josef Hlávka Medal is awarded by the the oldest Czech foundation to leading personalities of Czech science and arts for their lifetime scientific and educational activities and for promoting Czech science in the world.
Architect Josef Hlávka (1831 to 1908) spent part of his life in the Lužany chateau. He is credited with founding the Czech Academy of Sciences, Arts and literature, and founded the Economics Institute. He donated his entire property to a charitable foundation to support Czech science and arts.