Optimism after closed meeting at School of Management: ‘Glad that the new dean finally recognises issues’
-
Elinor Ostromgebouw, managementfaculteit. Foto: Diede van der Vleuten
Cautious optimism. That is the mood at the Nijmegen School of Management’s Representative Council after the closed faculty meeting this past Thursday. ‘It’s nice to see that the board has finally made some concrete announcements regarding the future.’
A deficit of millions of euros, a breach of trust, and a letter on intimidation and discrimination in the workplace; there was a lot to discuss at last Thursday’s faculty meeting of the Nijmegen School of Management. Those meetings are normally public affairs, but in this case an exception was made, due to the possible presences of the media.
The faculty’s Representative Council (OC), who make up the faculty’s participational bodies along with the Faculty Student Council (FSR), were optimistic when speaking with Vox. They had just finished their first talks with Saskia Lavrijssen, the faculty’s new dean as of this month.
First moves
A recent message for the faculty’s employees regarding the last Faculty Joint Assembly (FGV) states that “the first moves have been made for the process’ design for long-term solutions.” Aside from the financial aspect, issues regarding education, research, and personnel policy were supposedly discussed as well.
Closed meeting
Although the FGV is usually a public affair, the most recent one took place behind closed doors. This was a joint decision between the Faculty Board and the participational bodies. ‘We made that decision with a heavy heart’, according to Gaard Kets. ‘Some members did not feel free to speak their mind in front of the press.’
The assembly was the centre of attention after an urgent letter was leaked that talked about intimidation and discrimination at the faculty. Last Monday, De Gelderlander published a story about an Economy professor who was temporarily banned from her own department.
Driessen: ‘Paradoxically, our meetings are usually not very popular, but now that a lot of people did want to attend, we had to hold it behind closed doors.’
The OC states that there are no intentions to hold more of these closed meetings in the future.
The faculty needs those long-term solutions, because the faculty needs to get rid of its budgetary shortfall by 2027; that assignment by the Executive Board is still on the table. Earlier, representatives for the OC expressed concerns that the budget cuts would negatively impact the quality of education and research at the faculty; those concerns have not yet been alleviated.
And yet, Paul Driessen, chair of the OC, is positive about the proceedings; he calls it a good first step by the Faculty Board. ‘We now have greater insight into the requested financial scenarios. It’s nice to see things starting to become concrete.’
‘We are pleased that the Faculty Board will take the expertise and experience of employees into account’
Vice chair Gaard Kets also has more confidence now, because the Faculty Board wants to start talks with employees and students about the execution of its vision. ‘We are pleased that the Faculty Board will take the expertise and experience of employees into account’, Kets says. It is not yet clear exactly how the board aims to accomplish this; the FGV will discuss it at their next meeting.
Urgent letter
According to members of the OC, the Faculty Board also responded to the urgent letter put together by employees and the unions. The letter claimed that employees were subjected to intimidation and discrimination, career opportunities were severely limited, and employees with temporary contracts were worried for their future.
‘The board responded that social safety was at the top of the agenda. They are aware of the concerns and sentiment regarding the insecurity caused by the financial situation’, as stated by Driessen.
‘It is good to see that the dean acknowledges the issues and takes the signals seriously’
The message to employees goes on to say that there will be “a work group for Recognition and Appreciation, to increase employees’ awareness of career possibilities”. The work group will be looking into the new policies of appointing and promotion.
Driessen expresses satisfaction with these new steps. ‘It is good to see that the dean acknowledges the issues and takes the signals seriously. However, it is too soon to tell whether the faith in the new board has been restored’, he continues. ‘We are satisfied with the new dean and the new director of operations, but we will still be doing mediation.’
Translated by Jasper Pesch
Mediation
Last January, the OC withdrew its support for the Faculty Board (FB) at the time, led by interim dean Michiel Kompier. For this reason, the participational bodies and the board have started mediation. The OC did not want to disclose the exact implementation, nor the desired outcomes of the mediation ‘to avoid disrupting the process’. However, Kets is hopeful that the mediation will be finished before the summer holiday.
