Maaike Ambags-van der Meulen appointed new director of SPUI25
Maaike Ambags-van der Meulen will be taking over as director of SPUI25, the University of Amsterdam’s (UvA) academic and cultural centre, as of 1 June 2014. She is succeeding Margot Dijkgraaf, who is moving on to become director of the Boekman Foundation.
The director of SPUI25 carries overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of the centre. Ambags-van der Meulen will lead a small team responsible for the delivery of activities. Ambags was already director of the UvA's Amsterdam Academic Club, and will combine her role as director of SPUI25 with a small role at the Academic Club. SPUI25 and the Academic Club remain autonomous in their organisation and output.
The board of SPUI25, which is made up of José van Dijck, Maarten Asscher and Gerard Nijsten, are delighted with the appointment of Ambags-van der Meulen. ‘We have every confidence in the new director’s ability to encourage and inspire,’ said chairman Van Dijck.
Ambags: ‘SPUI25 is very successful in connecting the UvA with the cultural world. It is an honour for me to be allowed to lead the centre and I’m looking forward to it.’
About Maaike Ambags
Maaike Ambags-van der Meulen (1976) studied Arts and Culture at Maastricht University. After working on the domestic editorial team at NOS Journaal, she became commercial director of the Enof communication group. In 2011 she was appointed director of the UvA’s Amsterdam Academic Club.
About SPUI25
SPUI25 is an academic and cultural centre representing all of the UvA’s faculties in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the Athenaeum bookstore, publisher De Bezige Bij, and the Amsterdam University Association. SPUI25 organises about 250 events a year (lectures and debates) attracting approximately 20,000 visitors. As well as using its permanent home on Amsterdam's Spui square, SPUI25 also organises events in other venues in Amsterdam.