In consultation with the Executive Board, Dean Professor Victor Bekkers from Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB) has appointed Professor Wim Hafkamp as interim dean of Erasmus University College (EUC) as of 1 September 2018. He succeeds the current dean, Professor Maarten Frens. Professor Hafkamp has been appointed for a period of one and a half years. Maarten Frens will continue to be associated with the EUC as Educational Director until end of 2018, where he will complete the accreditation process of the Liberal Arts and Sciences programme.
Together with the Executive Board, the dean of ESSB has decided to appoint an interim dean because they have not yet been able to find a successor for Maarten Frens. A temporary solution has been found in the appointment of Professor Wim Hafkamp.
Wim Hafkamp is Professor of Environmental Science at ESSB. As former dean of ESSB, he has substantial managerial experience within Erasmus University. He has also held various academic managerial positions outside the university. After the EUC's flying start, his task is to formulate a future vision for the further development of the EUC.
The dean of ESSB and the Executive Board greatly appreciate the hard work that Maarten Frens has done over the past five years. Maarten Frens was one of the founders of the EUC and together with his team, created a lively and successful University College in the heart of Rotterdam in the course of five years. EUC has rapidly established itself as one of the best University Colleges in the Netherlands. In 2017 and 2018, EUC emerged as a Top Rated Programme in the ranking of the Higher Education Guide. Furthermore, an innovative curriculum was developed in which students are closely involved in the issues currently facing the city.
About Professor Wim Hafkamp
Professor Hafkamp is an environmental economist and has been Professor of Environmental Science at ESSB since 1994. He started as scientific director of Erasmus Center for Management and Sustainable Development, after which he was dean of ESSB for four years, starting in 2001. After his position as dean, he became scientific director of Knowledge Centre NICIS (Netherlands Institute for City Innovation Studies) and the knowledge centre VerDus (Connecting Sustainable Cities), an initiative of NWO, Platform31 and various ministries.
He is also scientific director of the Erasmus Off-campus PhD programme Cleaner Production, Industrial Ecology & Sustainable Development of the Department of Public Administration and Sociology.