New scientific leadership for Institutions for Open Societies

Anna Gerbrandy en Rutger Claassen
Anna Gerbrandy and Rutger Claassen

As per 1 January 2025, Anna Gerbrandy and Rutger Claassen will be appointed the new scientific directors of the university-wide strategic theme Institutions for Open Societies (IOS). They will take over from Bas van Bavel, who has led IOS for over seventeen years, and who has shaped its strategic direction as scientific director since 2014.

Rutger Claassen is Professor of Political Philosophy and Economic Ethics at the Faculty of Humanities and Anna Gerbrandy is Professor of Competition Law at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance. Both are no strangers to the IOS theme. They were active in one of the platforms in which researchers collaborate within the strategic theme, and have been members of the IOS programme team in recent years.

Gerbrandy and Claassen have also been closely involved in IOS initiatives like the bachelor’s programme Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) for many years. As a complementary duo, they are strong ambassadors for interdisciplinary research on the core themes of IOS: democracy and governance, transitions and well-being, and equality and diversity. Gerbrandy will focus primarily on the administrative embedding and strategic positioning of the theme, Claassen on the development of the interdisciplinary profile and the support of the platforms: the initiatives that form the research focus of the theme. The appointment is for a period of four years.

It is a logical step for us to turn our fruitful collaboration into a joint directorship for the strategic theme and flesh out our ideas about modern leadership.

I look forward to working with Anna and all the community members involved to further realize the inter- and transdisciplinary ambitions of IOS.

Under the leadership of Bas van Bavel, IOS has grown into a thriving, interdisciplinary community. “I am proud of what we have accomplished,” van Bavel says. “Together with many committed colleagues, we have strengthened collaboration across disciplines and focused on social issues. In recent months, Rutger and Anna have shown that they can further develop the strategic theme with great energy and vision, and I hand over the baton to them with great confidence.”

Rector magnificus Henk Kummeling: “In Anna and Rutger I see two great, passionate researchers, each with extensive administrative experience. Their competencies complement each other well. That makes them a robust duo that can effectively advance the ambitions for IOS in terms of research and collaboration, social debate and internationalization in years to come.”