The executive board, together with the law faculty, is searching for a new interim dean. After three weeks of unrest within the Grotius building, the executive board is withdrawing Kompier as the temporary head of the law faculty.

The executive board is looking for a new interim dean for the law faculty, as announced by the university in a news release on Sunday evening. According to a university spokesperson, the decision was made in consultation with Michiel Kompier. ‘Due to the lack of broad support, it was determined that there was no workable basis for this appointment decision.’

When dean Roel Schutgens unexpectedly announced his early departure from the law faculty at the end of February, his successor had already been appointed. The executive board had selected Kompier to lead the Faculty of Law for seven months.

Storm of Protest

This appointment sparked a wave of protests both within and outside the Grotius building. The Faculty Joint Assembly refused to cooperate with Kompier, arguing that the appointment process had not followed proper procedures. Before he could even properly begin, the law faculty members withdrew their confidence in Kompier.

The sitting vice deans aligned themselves with the faculty’s representative body, refusing to recognise Kompier as their fellow administrator. Due to the controversy, the University Joint Assembly—the central representative body—issued a “motion of disapproval” against the executive board.

The executive board regrets that Kompier could not count on “sufficient support,” the university wrote on Sunday evening. The board expressed its “great appreciation” for Kompier’s willingness to serve temporarily but will now look for a replacement.

New Dean

The aim is to strengthen the law faculty’s leadership “as soon as possible” by appointing a new interim dean from within the faculty, the university stated. Additionally, the executive board, in collaboration with the faculty, will soon begin the formal recruitment process for a new dean.