Franz Oberwinkler was appointed as successor to Karl Mgdefrau as Treasurer of Systematic Botany and Mycology at the University of Tbingen in 1974 and became the founding editor-in-chief of the academic journal, Mycological Progress, in 2002.
In 1974 he was appointed as successor to Karl Magdefrau as Chair of Systematic Botany and Mycology at the University of Tubingen and from 1974 until his retirement in 2008 he was head of the University's botanic garden, Botanischer Garten der Universitat Tubingen. 
