Rector magnificus Peter-Paul Verbeek moves from UvA to KNAW

After nearly four years as rector magnificus – and having also served as acting chair of the Executive Board over the past six months – the era of Peter-Paul Verbeek at the UvA is coming to an end. This summer, he will make the move to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), where he will take up the position of President. In an explanation, Verbeek says that he has grown fond of the UvA over the past years, but that this move fulfils a long-cherished ambition of his.

“This gives me the unique opportunity to be an ambassador for science. Excellent scholars from across the Netherlands come together there as the voice and conscience of science, while at the same time it serves as a platform for society. I hope to make a valuable contribution to this bridging role between science and society,” Verbeek said. During the celebration of the dies natalis earlier this month, Verbeek also argued in favour of “academic citizenship” as a way to restore trust in science.

Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board of the UvA responded as follows to Verbeek’s departure: “We greatly regret that Peter-Paul is stepping down as rector magnificus of our university. He has shown tremendous commitment to excellent education and research and has made significant contributions to, among other things, our four strategic themes, the educational vision, the responsible use of AI and digital technology, and the development of the ethical framework for collaborations. Above all, Peter-Paul is an amiable person and a wonderful colleague. At the same time, we are proud that he is taking on a wonderful new role in which he can represent science in a different way.”

It is not yet known who will succeed Verbeek as rector magnificus of the UvA. As regards the future filling of the position of Chair of the Executive Board, the physicist Vinod Subramaniam was recently presented.