She has a keen eye for the heart of the matter, she is ambitious, and she is humble. Colleagues praise the upcoming rector José Sanders for her dedication and determination. She is also a practising Catholic, devout even. ‘She is familiar with the church; she understands its vocabulary and complexity.’

She’s finally here: the first female rector of Radboud University. A little late – the university has already been around for 100 years – but no less fantastic, according to Ashley Terlouw. As chair of the Radboud Women Professors Network, she emphasizes that the appointment of a female rector shows young women that all positions are open to them.

‘Without proper communication, we will not put an end to wars and global warming’

José Sanders’ background in the Faculty of Arts also reflects well on humanities scholars.‘I also think it’s a good thing that she comes from the humanities’, says Terlouw, who herself is a professor at the Faculty of Law. ‘Natural scientists and medics have helped us understand a lot about the world; we are even capable of attaining a high age. But without proper communication, we will not put an end to wars and global warming.’

Public speaker

José Sanders is Professor of Communication in Organisations, and according to her colleagues, communication is her forte. She is known to be a good public speaker, and during the corona crisis, she was invited to shed light on the government’s vaccination campaign at Nieuwsuur, among others.

‘José is very accessible and approachable’, says Hans Schilderman, Professor of Religion and Care. Decades ago, he worked together with Sanders at Kaski, the expertise centre on religion and society in the Erasmus building. He praises Sanders for her commitment, sense of humour, energy, and enthusiasm. During the corona crisis, Schilderman and Sanders researched students’ well-being in lockdown.

‘Just like the current rector Han van Krieken, Sanders thinks that interfaculty cooperation is important, and she will continue this approach during her work as rector. Given Sanders’s involvement with Radboudumc, this is more than faint praise. Among other things, she focuses on communication and storytelling in healthcare.

Devout

Sanders strongly identifies as a Catholic. ‘I would even call her devout’, says Schilderman. ‘That may sound old-fashioned, but religion is very important to her.’ Schilderman is glad that theology, his area of expertise, is important to the new rector. ‘She is familiar with the church; she understands its vocabulary and complexity.’ That will be helpful in the ongoing discussion on the identity of Radboud University, that started after it lost the ‘Catholic’ predicate, according to Schilderman.

‘She is familiar with the church’

Student pastor Jos Geelen shares this opinion. According to him, the issue of ‘identity’ is in good hands with Sanders, who is a board member of the University Chaplaincy . ‘With Han van Krieken’s departure from the board, I was a little worried about the course of the process, but not anymore. I have gotten to know José Sanders as a very open and respectful woman, who thinks the glass is half-full rather than half-empty.’

Board change

However, Janine Berns, chair of the Representative Council of the Faculty of Arts, has mixed feelings about Sanders’ appointment as rector. Not because this new position would not be a good fit for her, but because it means the faculty loses a great dean. Sanders had only been managing the faculty for a year and a half. ‘I’m really happy for her, but for us this means another board change’, says Berns.

She explains that Sanders is ‘extremely committed and dedicated’ and she would have liked to keep her on the board. The faculty has a lot to deal with, among others the sector plans of the ministry. These plans state that all small language studies in the country, such as German and French, have to work in close collaboration. ‘As dean, José has given our faculty a strong voice in this discussion in which we have to compete with the Randstad.’

‘You won’t hear her sing her own praises about her recent publications’

Professor Jos Hornikx, who has been working at the Faculty of Arts for a long time, confirms that Sanders does not shy away from difficult dossiers. He says that the upcoming rector would rather make a hard decision than let an issue fester. ‘That isn’t always fun, but it is better.’

Men

According to Hornikx, Sanders does not owe her new position to her being a woman, but to her simply being the best candidate. ‘She has a keen eye for the heart of the matter, she has strong analytical skills, and she is ambitious about good education and research.’ She combines these characteristics with a certain humbleness. ‘You won’t hear her sing her own praises about her recent publications.’

Ashley Terlouw hopes that Sanders, when she enters her new position as rector, will not be judged on her being a woman. ‘Not in the sense of “what a nice red jacket you are wearing”, but also not in the form of “she’s doing well for a woman.” Terlouw has faith. ‘I think that we as a university are ready for it now. And that is not only because of the women, but also because men have been getting more used to working with women.’

Translated by Sophie Verhoeven