Frank van der Duijn Schouten new ESHCC interim

Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC) has a new interim dean: Frank van der Duijn Schouten. He succeeds Dymph van den Boom, who was also an interim. The new dean is appointed for only three months.

More on ESHCC

• ESHCC Dean’s definitive proposal: ‘Merging with ESSB is the best option’
• ESHCC interim dean resigns with immediate effect
• Controversial merger advice by Van den Boom contains plagiarism as well
• ESHCC-ESSB merger off the table
• Twelve History staff members withdraw confidence in ESHCC heads

Van der Duijn Schouten is also an interim dean at the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE). He will combine both deanships for the three-month period. The Executive Board (CvB) has asked Van der Duijn Schouten to issue an advice on the future of ESHCC on September 1^st.

It’s not clear what these ‘desirable next steps’ are. The Executive Board withdrew the merger plan for the ESHCC and Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Studies (ESSB) last Friday. On the same day, it was announced that the Executive Board was starting an investigation into the culture within the ESHCC. ‘Clear signals of tensions and division’ were reported at the university board. Twelve members of the academic staff of History, for example, expressed their confidence in the department heads of the faculty last week.

Van der Duijn Schouten was interim dean of the Erasmus School of Philosophy until October 2017. Earlier, the emeritus professor of Mathematical Decision Making was Rector Magnificus of Tilburg University and VU University Amsterdam.