Anja Visser appointed new director of the Centre for Religion, Health and Wellbeing

Anja Visser has been appointed as the new director of the Centre for Religion, Health and Wellbeing. This centre brings together researchers and professionals from within and outside the university to focus on the themes of religion, health and wellbeing. The research conducted by the centre covers a wide range of topics, such as meaning, spirituality, work, ethical issues surrounding the end of life, and diversity in religious and cultural views on illness and health. But what does the director do? We asked Anja herself.

What does the director of such a centre actually do?

‘As director, your main task is to raise the profile of the work done by the members. This is particularly important internally: among the members of the Centre, but also with partners within the University of Groningen, such as the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, the Groningen Centre for Health and Humanities and the Social Sciences Centre for Health and Well-being. We also need to be visible externally: promoting the activities of the members and, for example, maintaining the Centre's LinkedIn page.”

Do you have a particular line you want to follow?

“With the cutbacks in the university and science as a whole, we are once again looking for what is possible for the Centre and its members. There is no internal funding for activities for the Centre and its members, and there is no assistance. This means that even more responsibility will fall on the members themselves, who will have to look even further afield to get things done. For me, this is now an area of focus: how can we use the exchange within and through the Centre to take advantage of the increasingly scarce opportunities in research and education?"

We wish Anja every success in her new role!