As of 1 September 2022, Kees van Veen will be leaving the post of Scientific Director of Sustainable Society.

Over the past three years, the development of this spearhead within the RUG has taken off under his stewardship. A solid, new base has been created for the future in terms of content and organisation.

The development of four interfaculty research themes Sustainable Landscapes, Democracy & Governance, Disaster Resilience, Illicit Trade has been particularly important, with active involvement of more than 100 RUG scientists. Sustainable Society’s rapidly developing societal visibility is reflected in the increasing number of long-term partnerships with social organisations.

The continuous Small Grants for sustainability research, the PhD Grants for extra sustainability impact by doctoral students, the annual SuSo Symposium, a series of sustainability Summer Schools, the Groninger Bestuursconferentie, and the Masterclasses on Groningen earthquakes are examples of activities that have come about under the leadership of Kees van Veen.

Due to the temporary nature of the post and the transition to the new Agricola School for Sustainable Development, this is a logical time to hand over responsibility. The Steering Committee of Deans would like to thank Kees for his enormous dedication and enthusiasm. His tasks will be taken on temporarily by Frans Sijtsma (Faculty of Spatial Sciences), Coordinator of the Sustainable Landscapes research theme.

Prof Dr Kees Aarts

(Dean Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, chairperson Steering Committee Sustainable Society).