3 February 2023
Pursuant to the Whistleblower Policy, the UvA Executive Board has received a report of 'serious institutional abuses at the UvA’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG), which are leading to an acute and fundamental threat to academic freedom and the quality of education and research'. The Executive Board has commissioned an external and independent committee to investigate the issues raised in the report.
‘The UvA stands for academic freedom: space for academics to gather knowledge, discuss it freely and disseminate it without obstacles,’ said Peter-Paul Verbeek, rector magnificus of the UvA. ‘It is the essence of the university, space to debate new and existing knowledge, even when it is problematic.’
‘That space must be safeguarded, it is a great asset. At the same time, we must realise that academic freedom can sometimes clash with other rights and rules and that it comes with responsibilities. Spreading hate is of course not covered by that freedom. And it is, for example, not a license to ignore ethical standards in research.’
Where the boundaries lie is also a loaded subject, as is clear from the many and sometimes polarised reactions, including on social media, to the whistleblower's allegations. Verbeek: ‘Careful research into this topic can, in addition to an assessment of the facts in question, provide us with broad insights and help us understand how to best conduct this discussion. We are happy to contribute to this by making the report of the committee public, insofar as the regulations allow.’
The Executive Board has found the following people willing to carry out the investigation:
The committee will advise on the admissibility of the whistleblower report, investigate the issues raised by the report, and pay attention to two sub-themes: 'academic freedom' and 'safe spaces'.
In summary, the Board asks the committee to:
The committee will study relevant documents and correspondence and will speak with the employee who made the report, relevant managers, staff and students at the FMG and (delegations of) the faculty student councils and works councils. Staff and students from the department will also be given the opportunity to provide written input prior to the round of interviews.
It is expected that the committee will be able to deliver its report at the end of June.
Carel Stolker is emeritus professor of Private Law at Leiden University, where he was also rector magnificus and president of the Executive Board from 2013 to 2021. He holds and has held numerous academic, social and policy-related positions, including supervisory positions at museums and healthcare institutions, roles in committees examining the work of the Dutch judiciary, and a board membership at the Research Foundation - Flanders.
Janka Stoker has been professor of Leadership and Organisational Change at the University of Groningen (RUG) since 2003. At RUG, she is director of In the LEAD, the university’s expertise centre in the field of leadership. She has always combined research and practice in her work. She also has extensive administrative experience, including as a director of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at RUG, and as a member of the Supervisory Board of the University of Twente.
Berteke Waaldijk is professor of Language and Culture Studies at the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University (UU) and a member of the Graduate Gender Programme. As a former education director and programme coordinator for the Bachelor's in Language and Culture Studies, she has extensive experience in promoting safe learning communities. As a researcher in the UU platform Gender, Diversity & Global Justice, she advises on matters such as gender registration. She conducts research into the history of gender, culture and citizenship and is co-founder of ATGENDER, the European Association for Gender Research, Education and Documentation.