Alumnus of the Year
With the honorary title Alumnus of the Year, Utrecht University underlines that alumni are an important and integral part of the academic community. Together with students, scientists, alumni, social partners, government, and business, the university seeks solutions to the social challenges of our time. An Alumnus of the Year is someone who advances in his or her field and dares to step outside the box, a socially engaged individual who knows how to inspire today's students.
2024: Hiske Arts
Hiske Arts has been named Alumnus of the Year 2024 by Utrecht University. She received this honorary title on Wednesday, March 26, in the Dom Church during the celebration of the university's 389th anniversary, the Dies Natalis.
As a campaign leader at Fossielvrij NL, Hiske is dedicated to stopping investments in new fossil projects and tackling misleading sustainability claims. Her campaigns have had a lasting impact. Thanks to her efforts, pension fund ABP stopped investing in fossil companies, and she won a lawsuit against KLM, making it more difficult for companies to engage in greenwashing. Now, she has set her sights on the world’s largest asset manager, determined to further cut off the flow of fossil fuel investments.
Campaigner, writer and speaker
Hiske was already active while studying as a board member of the Dutch Student Union LSVb, among other things. After her Master's programme Conflict Studies and Human Rights, she founded the organisation Critical Mass with a number of fellow alumni. With it, she developed interactive expositions, movies and games to let people think on how to live with each other and deal with conflicts.
In the past five years, she especially occupied herself with sustainability, economics and climate justice. From her academic fundament, she continues to work as a campaigner, writer and speaker to force social tipping points which lead to a new normal. In this, the sustainable choice is the only logical, ethical, affordable and available option.
Jury
This year, the jury consisted of the alumni Marjan Minnesma (President, Director of Urgenda and first winner of Alumnus of the Year), José van Dijck (Distinguished Professor, Board Member of Utrecht University Fund), Adriaan ter Braack (science journalist), Maurice Unck ( Director of Mail in the Netherlands of PostNL, Vice President of Utrecht University Fund) and Niels Vreeswijk (student assessor of the Executive Board).
