ESL wants third term for dean Suzan Stoter

In an interview with EM, Suzan Stoter, dean of Erasmus School of Law (ESL), says that she would be happy to stay on for a third term. Normally, an extension after the second term is only possible in exceptional situations. Stoter: “I haven’t rounded off my mission at this faculty.”

Stoter explains that there had been discussions with section chairs of the faculty in November. “They asked me to stay on and I said yes,” says Stoter. She says that she is ‘proud’ and ‘deeply grateful’ to have been asked. Faculty Council chair Tessa van Schendel confirms that the council ‘has expressed the wish for term of office of the present dean to be extended’.

It is not yet certain whether the extension will be granted. The Executive Board has yet to take a decision and says that it ‘does not comment on individual appointment procedures’. The Board also refused to comment when asked whether an extension was possible and whether they had a candidate in mind.

Exceptional cases

The dean is appointed for four years, with the option to extend the term of office for a second period. The Executive Board will only decide to reappoint a dean for a third period in exceptional cases. It does not specify what constitutes an ‘exceptional case’.

Stoter started her academic career at the University of Amsterdam. In 2010 she became a professor at the ESL and in 2013 she was appointed dean. She was the first female dean in EUR’s 99-year existence.