Peter van Tienderen nominated as dean of science faculty
Biologist Peter van Tienderen will become the new dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science (FNWI). At least: if Van Tienderen’s public presentation, tomorrow at Science Park, goes well. Van Tienderen has been acting as dean since Karen Maex moved on to the Executive Board.
In recent months, an advisory committee, including representatives of the faculty community, has been working on the recruitment of a new dean for the FNWI. Several interviews were held with potential candidates, but van Tienderen apparently stood out. With van Tienderen’s nomination, the entire dean corps will soon consist of men. Women did pass the review, but dropped out for various reasons. It seems a sensitive setback for the much-desired diversity. College president Geert ten Dam wants to work proactively on this in the future, she said recently.
Pieter Hendrik van Tienderen (Numansdorp, 1958) studied biology and obtained his PhD in Utrecht. He then worked as a postdoc at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina (USA), followed by an appointment at Wageningen UR and later a dual research position at Wageningen UR and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology. Van Tienderen has been a professor of experimental plant systematics at the UvA since 2001.
Vrije Universiteit
With Van Tienderen’s appointment, the UvA and VU’s double beta decanate has finally ended. This was established in 2013 with the appointment of Karen Maex, who was dean at both the UvA and the VU. The intention was that she would eventually become dean of a single joint UvA and VU science faculty, but that remained a plan: the UvA’s employee participation body put a stop to the creation of this Amsterdam Faculty of Science.
Meanwhile, UvA and VU have separate science faculties again, although the intention is still to continue the collaboration. To this end, a relocation plan has been devised, with part of the beta research being clustered at the UvA, another part at the VU. Many students and staff have little appetite for this, by the way, according to a recent report in Folia.
Tomorrow, Tuesday 20 December, the faculty is organising a public presentation by Van Tienderen for all staff and students. There, questions will undoubtedly be asked about the cooperation with the VU and Van Tienderen’s view on it. If the presentation ends well, the Executive Board will proceed with the appointment from 1 January.
Peter van Tienderen’s public presentation will take place from 9.30 to 10.30 a.m. in room C0.05 at Science Park.
