Confidential Advisors

Our faculty has four confidential advisers: Pauline Westerman, Anne Ruth Mackor, Stephanie Hoenders and Maaike Kooijman. They would like to introduce themselves.

Pauline Westerman

I am Pauline Westerman, in daily life professor in Philosophy of Law. I am confidential advisor for PhDs and Research Master students (including those who do an LLM+).

You can come to me for all sorts of problems: personal, organisational or intellectual. You may e.g. experience problems with work-life balance, your own perfectionism, expectations of supervisors, unpleasant experiences with supervisors, colleagues or fellow students, or you may encounter difficulties in organising your research, getting things done, or just surviving the academic ratrace.

If you approach me for any such problems you can count on full confidentiality. I will only take action or disclose any information if you want me to do so.

Apart from these private meetings I also organise, together with Hylke Jellema, the so-called ‘starting-groups’ of PhDs in their first year of their appointment which are devoted to the problems and topics listed above.

Maybe needless to say: there are also a couple of things that do not belong to my competence: financial matters or facilities such as equipment and rooms should preferably be discussed with other people of the Graduate School.

Room number: 1217-0388
Phone number: 050-3635637

Anne Ruth Mackor

I am the confidential scientific integrity counselor for all faculty employees. With scientific integrity you can think of questions about co-authorship, plagiarism, manipulation or falsification of data, or violation of interests or privacy of participants in empirical research. You are welcome to come in for advice, but also if you suspect a violation of integrity. Naturally, all conversations are completely confidential. Only if you request this yourself or if you give your explicit permission, will I take further action if necessary.

I am affiliated with the faculty as professor of professional ethics, particularly of legal professions. I am also chair of the Faculty Committee on Science Review and Ethics (CWB) and of the Law Research Ethics Review Subcommittee (CETOR). In all of these positions, I am concerned with professional and scientific integrity. As a professor, I am particularly concerned with the integrity of the judiciary, including in my NWO research project 'Preventing miscarriages of Justice'. At CWB, scientific integrity in general is the focus, while at CETOR the emphasis is on the integrity of empirical research.

Room number: 1217-0383
Phone number: 06-31982657

Confidential advisers for students

Are you experiencing (or have you experienced) inappropriate behaviour? Do you want to share your story? Are you in need of a listening ear? Do you want to discuss what you could do?

As a student at our Faculty, you can turn to Stephanie Hoenders and Maaike Kooijman, who within our study advice team fulfil the role of confidential adviser.

You are welcome to contact them if you have experienced or witnessed inappropriate behaviour. For example, in case of sexually transgressive behaviour, (sexual) harassment, bullying, discrimination, violence, aggression or any other form of inappropriate behaviour. You’re also welcome if you have been a bystander of (alleged) undesirable behaviour. We can then together discuss what steps to take.

You can contact Stephanie Hoenders directly by email s.e.l.hoenders@rug.nl. International students can contact Maaike Kooijman (m.kooijman@rug.nl).