Complete managerial renewal at Tilburg University

Bags of managerial experience will leave Tilburg University this coming year. Not only are chairman of the Board of Regents, Hein van Oorschot, and general manager Huub Dekkers switching careers, but three deans are leaving as well. This concerns Randall Lesaffer, dean of Tilburg Law School, Ari de Ruijter, dean of the School of Humanities and Adelbert Denaux (dean of the Tilburg School of Theology).

Lesaffer’s mandate, which has spanned the last four and a half years, will end in 2013. He will be succeeded by Professor of Law and Computerization, Corien Prins.
Lesaffer has told Univers that he will return to teaching. “The tradition at TLS is that the dean is selected from the sitting Professors and since 1992 they would normally take up office for three years. My mandate was prolonged by one and a half years to facilitate availability for my intended successor, Corien. It is also tradition for the departing dean to take up chair again, after their mandate runs out. Philip Eijlander was the only exception in the last decade by becoming rector. I have enjoyed being a dean and I have put all my effort into it and I will continue to do so these coming six months, but I can ’t wait to return to my professional ’passion’ for education and research. So, I will be giving more lectures and I am planning to write a couple of books in the coming years.”
In fact, Lesaffer kept on teaching as a dean but it was limited to one or two subjects instead of the four or five he’ll teach in the near future.

Arie de Ruijter is also stepping down as a dean of Tilburg University in 2013. He will have reached retirement. His departure is planned for September 2013. “I’m afraid they’ll have to put up with me for one more year, “ he says.

Adelbert Denaux is retiring too. He’ll be the first of the three deans to step down on the 31st of December 2012. But he won’t be sitting around twiddling his thumbs. He has been offered a so-called 0-0 position at the University. This is a way for Universities to enable retired employees to continue working. The employees aren’t paid a salary but they can use the University’s research facilities.
Denaux: “I still have a few doctorates I want to complete and on top of that I have received several assignments from Rome and I am the editor in chief of a journal, which takes up a lot of time.”
Normally, new deans are nominated by a selection committee, after which they are appointed by the Board of Regents. The Faculty of Theology follows the same procedure, says Denaux. “I expect this will be done in concert with the High Chancellor of our faculty, Monsignor Wim Eijk.”