What is your current state of mind?
“I’m just about to leave Tilburg University and I know I’m really going to miss the people there. I’m delighted to be going where I’m going, but it’s also quite sad.
“At the same time, I feel angry about the cuts that are in prospect. And it’s not just about the extent of the cuts, it’s also about how they’ll be implemented. For example, cuts to starting grants will start in 2025. We’re dealing with a government that isn’t trustworthy and that presents administrators with a huge dilemma. This is because we’re forced to behave unfairly towards people we’ve just awarded a permanent contract to, who we now can no longer actually pay.
CV
Jantine Schuit (1964) will be the new rector magnificus of Erasmus University Rotterdam from 1 November 2024.
Schuit studied Health Education as well as Household and Consumer Sciences at Wageningen University, where she also obtained a PhD. From 1997 to 2017 she worked at RIVM, among other things as head of the Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, and from 2005 she was an endowed professor of Health Promotion and Policy at VU University Amsterdam. Between 2017 and 2020, she was dean of the Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and, since 2020, she has been vice-rector at Tilburg University.
“But I also look critically at myself: were we sufficiently alert? Could we have prevented this? I don’t think we could, but I do think that we have a challenge ahead of us. We’re not farmers who drive their tractors onto the motorway and demonstrate in a disruptive way. That’s not the sort of thing we do. However, I think that we maybe tow the line too often and assume that people are reasonable. On the contrary, it’s apparent that we don’t have many friends. Clearly, the government doesn’t realise that we contribute to the earning capacity of the Netherlands, too.”
What is your greatest quality?
“What I’m good at is bringing people together. At Tilburg University, I was a dean at first. Later on, I joined the Executive Board and helped ensure that the deans and the administrators made a really good team. Because I know how things work within a faculty, I have a better understanding as an Executive Board member of how different faculties have different research cultures. In Rotterdam, I expect things to be the same: economists work differently from philosophers, who in turn work differently from behavioural scientists.
“One of the things I’ve worked hard on at Tilburg University is encouraging interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research cooperation. It’s something I really believe in. When I started out as an epidemiologist, I kept realising that you have to change human behaviour if you want to make people healthier. But to change people’s behaviour, you have to change the environment. As a consequence, I’ve always tried to connect with other disciplines.”
What is your favourite food and drink?
“I don’t eat meat, because I don’t think it’s sustainable. I do occasionally eat fish, but ideally I eat vegetarian.
“I like sharing food with people – a cheese fondue, for example, or a one-pot meal. I prefer to eat in a more relaxed setting, rather than in a restaurant with a Michelin star. I think the way you eat and the conversation you have is more important than the dish itself.
“On cheat days, I’ll go for the pizzas my partner makes, with lashings of cheese.”
Do you take after your father or your mother?
“I think I’m more like my father. He dared to be different and to show his sensitive side – at least to me. I thought that was a really great quality of his, and I think I’m a bit like that as well. I’m not afraid to say what I think and to admit when I don’t know something. I’ve noticed that colleagues trust me because of this and are unafraid to be open with me in return. My mother is more cautious.
“I grew up in a working-class family in Nijkerk. We were a very strict Calvinist family, so there were a lot of things I couldn’t do. Particularly being a girl. As early as in kindergarten, however, I realised I had an interest in the wider world. I wanted to travel and I often dressed unconventionally. While everyone else at school was afraid of standing out from the crowd, I really liked to do so.
“My father was a machine operator who was declared unfit for work at the age of 36, which meant my mother really had to pull out all the stops. I think they were both smart, but never had the chance to pursue higher education. My brothers and my sister were clever as well, but they didn’t go on to university after high school. To go to university, you really had to break free. I did have that dream, and eventually, with support from others, I plucked up the courage to carry on with my studies after high school and a degree from a university of applied sciences.
“It wasn’t easy, because by doing that I gave the impression that what my family was doing wasn’t good enough for me. But I persevered. These days, they’re very proud of what I’ve achieved.
“I definitely don’t identify as a Calvinist any more, but deep down, I sometimes notice that I feel guilty if I don’t do certain things. That definitely has something to do with the way I was brought up. That will never go away.”
What is the most important life lesson from your childhood?
“What I learnt from my childhood is that I need to be financially independent, because my mother was in such a bizarre and difficult position. In those days, married women didn’t work and my father couldn’t work. We had virtually no money, so I know what it’s like to live in poverty and to grow up in an environment where you’re kept in your place, for your own good, because you’re nothing special.
“For this reason, I wanted to instil in my children the idea that they should get the most they can out of life and themselves. I have two daughters: Sarah has graduated and works as a doctor, Inés is studying for a second master degree. I’m super proud of them.”
What do you value most in colleagues?
“When I have conversations with colleagues, I try to listen carefully, ask questions and give honest feedback. I also really like it when they do the same to me, when they’re not afraid to do that. People find this quite difficult, however much you want to encourage them as an administrator. I don’t know if I always hear the full story, but I really like it when there’s a foundation of trust.
“Maybe this all sounds a bit contrived. I do find feedback difficult at times. Sometimes I’m like: whoa, that’s a bit harsh. But then I think: it’s good to have that feedback, because I can do something with it.”
What do you find really difficult in other people?
“When you reach an agreement with someone, for example, and then you’re in a meeting and suddenly that person says: I won’t commit to that.
“On the one hand, it’s great that you’re being honest – but we did have a deal. When that happens, I speak to that person afterwards and say, ‘listen, we had a deal, let’s stick to it’. We can’t renegotiate all the time. I sometimes see that happening at universities. I don’t know if it’s the same in Rotterdam, but for some colleagues, a decision is the starting point for a new negotiation. I really struggle with that and I’m not afraid to say so.
“With the upcoming budget cuts in particular, it’s important that board members and deans stick together. It’s okay to question things internally, or to say you find something difficult or don’t agree with it, but you need to present a unified front to the outside world.
“I know that’s not easy. There will be more cuts in some departments than in others. Some departments may have always balanced their books as they should and others less so, but at times like these solidarity is important.
“Deans are responsible for their faculties, I’m well aware of that. But I also believe that they have a responsibility to see the bigger picture. We’re jointly responsible for the university, it’s not every faculty for itself.”
What is your personal motto?
“I always need people who inspire me. I’m inclined to take a pretty hands-on approach, but here in Tilburg I’ve learned – among others through colleagues from the Faculty of Humanities – that if you want to arrive at a good solution, it’s better sometimes to take a step back from the situation. In other words, you need to look at it from a wide range of perspectives and not take action right away. For me, it’s very important to listen to each other and learn from each other. I’d say that’s my motto.”