He did not apply for the new employee card; too much hassle for the few days that are left. Plus, the security guard downstairs in the Erasmus building knows him, and is even a bit of a fan of his. “I regularly made small talk. Before the holiday period, he even wanted to take a picture with me because he thought he might not see me again before I left.”
Although these past four years are quite a short period of time in the context of his entire academic and administrative career, EUR is ‘dear to his heart’, Brinksma says on one of his last days as Executive Board chair. Still, it was time to go. Not only did he hit retirement age, the home front was calling to him as well. He has a disabled son he wants to dedicate more time to, a 90-year-old mother, and his wife who is already retired, is also entitled to a little more of his time. “The job as president of an Executive Board is not particularly compatible with informal care. I believe it should be possible, but the world has become too busy.”
And busy it certainly was. During his time on the board, Brinksma focused on forging new cooperative arrangements to strengthen the EUR’s position in the Netherlands and in Europe, which meant a lot of travelling and therefore a lot of time away from home.
Modest social scientists
He is proud of the place he has given Erasmus University in the partnership with TU Delft and Erasmus MC in the so-called convergence between the three institutions. When he took office, the university teaching hospital and the Delft techies in particular seemed to like the closer cooperation; Erasmus University took a more modest stance.
Brinksma was surprised by that attitude: “EUR has a self-confident image to the outside world; it walks the talk. But the funny thing was that I found a lot of confusion among people from the social sciences who were nonetheless taking a kind of background position. I was surprised that people saw themselves in a kind of side-car role in that partnership: ‘I’m sure those doctors and engineers will probably be calling the shots and there will be no room for us…’ I really had to convince them: ‘You guys are great and we can’t do it without the social sciences, so take on that role’.”
In fact, social sciences are necessary, he believes, when it comes to realising research with social impact. “Just look at the pandemic: the technology side was successful with the vaccines, but policy on the behavioural side failed. That’s why I came to this university as a STEM student: I have become convinced that the social sciences are indispensable for real innovation.”
Ed on Tour
Another highlight for the outgoing Executive Board president, something that many staff and students may have missed, is the strengthening of the UNIC cooperative arrangement, in which the EUR joins forces with 10 universities from other post-industrial cities in Europe to be in a stronger position when making applications for research funds, among other things, and exchanging best practices in many areas.
When travel was allowed again after the pandemic, Brinksma – under the title ‘Ed on Tour’ – visited all partner universities to strengthen ties and take cooperation to the next level. “The idea of UNIC came from an observation by President Macron, who called for better cooperation between universities in continental Europe to counterbalance the dominance of British and American universities in the rankings. The distribution of research money will increasingly be linked to these kinds of networks.”
No police state
But the past four years have also been characterised by intense events for Brinksma, with the outside world entering the university – sometimes violently. Brinksma does not have to think long about the biggest low: the attack in September last year at Erasmus MC in which a lecturer was also killed. “The day after the attack, we had a walk-in where I spoke to two students who had come across the perpetrator with the gun in his hand. That was intense. You think: this is something that happens in America, not here.”
Asked if the university should have done something differently, or is doing something differently now, he said: “We are the soft underbelly of society and you simply cannot lock down your hospital or university, that is not the solution. You have to keep your eyes and ears open for all sorts of elements of alienation and radicalisation, but there are no guarantees. You don’t want to turn the university into a police state.”
This last remark inevitably leads to another difficult point in Brinksma’s tenure on the board: three times the police intervened on campus during an occupation by students, an unprecedented occurrence. Twice, climate activists were removed from the buildings they occupied and most recently, the riot police was present en masse to clear the tent camp of pro-Palestine protesters. In which, incidentally, the protesters themselves left the campus without the police really having to intervene.
Elephant skin
“It was not the protests that I would cite as a low point; provocative protests are part and parcel of a university, you have to be able to deal with that as an administrator. I would also venture to say that the protests have been agenda-setting.” Brinksma does, however, regret the police intervention. “That first time in particular was very unfortunate, because we actually had no intention of getting the police involved at all. But we as a board felt we had no choice when the police had information that outside groups were on their way. We also had less context than now, we got taken by surprise. The coordination with the so-called ‘triangle’ (police, mayor and public prosecutor, ed.) intensified after this.”
Brinksma is not looking for sympathy about the wave of criticism that the board got from the university community, especially after the first occupation, because as an administrator, you have to ‘have elephant skin’. But he did feel a little helpless: “As an administrator, you are responsible for safety on campus, but you have no means to act when that safety is compromised. It is ultimately the mayor and the police who decide whether to intervene.”
Good discussion
He does not want to say much on the Gaza protest, as it remains an emotional issue. He took issue with the vandalism and very personal attacks towards him (slogans directed against Brinksma and the Executive Board were posted on campus, ed.). “The protesters didn’t have to leave the campus, they were allowed to choose where they wanted to pitch their tents, just not on the plaza where the Heart Beat festival was planned. An event that many students and staff were looking forward to, which is therefore also something you have to consider as an administrator.”
What Brinksma did find difficult was protesters who simply gave their demands and did not want to discuss them in any way. “Protesting, sure. Friction is also fine, but let’s at least talk to each other.”
Nevertheless, he looks back positively on the meeting organised by the university on its role in the war between Israel and Hamas. “I was proud that we were able to have the discussion after the tent camp was cleared out without raising voices and escalation. We didn’t all agree in the end. But we did feel that a real substantive conversation had taken place.”
Since Monday, 2 September, all such issues are no longer on his plate since he handed over the gavel to Rector Magnificus Annelien Bredenoord. There is still plenty to do, though: from memberships of supervisory boards and consultancy at home and abroad to a job for NWO. This past summer, he already had a tentative taste of his new, agenda-free life when he finally found a moment to clean out his garage and pick out books. “For the first time in 16 years, I am regaining more control over my life.”
