Antoinette de Bont new vice-rector of Tilburg University

Antoinette de Bont will continue as vice-rector of Tilburg University. She has held the position on an interim basis during the current academic year. As of September 1, she will officially be appointed vice-rector and member of the Executive Board.

These are ’turbulent times’, De Bont observed during her interim year as vice-rector. There are campus protests, student numbers are declining, and budget cuts are affecting higher education. Universities also face ongoing challenges such as educational innovation and securing research funding.

With De Bont’s permanent appointment, the Executive Board of Tilburg University is once again at full strength. As vice-rector, she will oversee the strengthening of primary processes of education and research, research and contract funding, and positioning Tilburg University within the regional and European ecosystem.

According to the incoming vice-rector, Tilburg University, with its focus on the humanities and social sciences, ‘can make an essential contribution to the social issues we are faced with, such as a sustainable and inclusive labor market, the energy transition, and social inequality.’

Successor

Antoinette de Bont has served as dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences since August 2021. In November of last year, she transitioned to the Executive Board. She took over as interim vice-rector from Jantine Schuit, who unexpectedly left for Erasmus University to become rector there.

Initially, De Bont was intended to hold the position temporarily until a permanent replacement could be found. That permanent successor, it now turns out, is De Bont herself. ‘The appointment follows an open and carefully conducted recruitment and selection process under external supervision,’ the university stated. ‘Antoinette has fulfilled her role with strategic insight, connected leadership, and realism.’

Rotterdam

Previously, De Bont worked at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, where she served as vice-dean for research and vice-dean for education. In 2020, she received the FAME (Female Academics Moving toward Equity) Athena Award for her contributions to promoting diversity and inclusion.