27 June 2023

The Executive Board (CvB) has appointed an interim Faculty Board for the Faculty of Law (FdR).

The members of the interim Board of the Faculty of Law are: 

• Suzan Stoter, Dean
• Jan Adriaanse, Vice-Dean, education portfolio
• Janine Ubink, Vice-Dean, research portfolio
• Gertjan Boshuizen, operational management portfolio
• Julie Külsen, assessor until 1 September

There will be an opportunity to meet the new board members on Tuesday afternoon 27 June in the KOG (details below).

Calm and continuity

The Executive Board is pleased that, with the appointment of the interim Board, the continuity of the Faculty is assured. ‘The Faculty is in good shape thanks to the commitment of the outgoing Board, and our aim with this appointment is to restore calm in the short term. We have now started preparations for the open recruitment of a new Faculty Board, which will ideally be installed by the beginning of next year,’ said Rector Hester Bijl.

Interim Dean Suzan Stoter, Professor of the Sociology of Law at Erasmus School of Law, and former Dean, commented: ‘Together with the other board members, I am committed to bringing continuity to the Faculty and consolidating the results achieved until a new board is installed.’

Options explored

A committee of three members explored the options before the interim Board was appointed. This temporary team was headed by Mark Rutgers, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. The other two members were: Janine Ubink, Professor of Law, Governance and Development at the Von Vollenhoven Institute, and Jan Adriaanse, Professor of Turnaround Management at the Department of Business Studies, and Academic Director of the Institute of Tax Law and Economics. (Both work at Leiden Law School.)

Following a number of discussions within the faculty, the committee issued the following advice:

• Appoint a completely new interim Board.  
• Appoint an interim Dean who should primarily be responsible for administrative cohesion and continuity.
• Ensure in particular that the interim Board monitors the progress of the Core Vision project and also focuses on forthcoming audits and other urgent issues. 

The committee also advised initiating an open recruitment procedure for the new Faculty Board as soon as possible. If possible, the new Faculty Board should be installed with effect from 1 January 2024, or prior to that date.

The CvB asked Ubink and Adriaanse to become members of the interim Board, after having held consultations within the faculty. The Scientific Directors of the FdR endorse the appointment of the interim Board and will play an important supporting role during this transitional phase. 

Meet the Interim Board in the KOG on 27 June

There will be an opportunity to meet the new interim Board members during an internal meeting on Tuesday 27 June from 17.00 to 18.00 hrs. (Grotius Room A051 in the KOG). Rector Hester Bijl will elaborate on the appointment of the Board; Mark Rutgers, who headed the exploratory committee, will also be present. Staff and students of FdR are very welcome to attend the meeting.

Appreciation

The CvB would like to express its appreciation to the outgoing Faculty Board, headed by Dean Joanne van der Leun, for the performance of the Faculty over the recent period.

If you have any questions or comments on or in response to this notice, please contact your supervisor or study adviser.