Beadle steps down: ‘The hierarchy between professor and PhD candidate is gradually diminishing’

For years, she was the face of academic traditions and the most photographed employee. After nearly twenty years her career is coming to an end. Marleen van Kester reflects on how centuries-old traditions are slowly becoming more modern: “When I started, this was a male-dominated profession.”

“I find the traditional aspect of the job very beautiful”, says Van Kester. “It’s something you can hold on to.” The same applies to the PhD candidates she guides: “They know exactly how such a tense day will unfold.” These Dutch traditions occasionally raise eyebrows among PhD candidates from abroad. “They sometimes think: these people are crazy.”

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The traditions associated with the ceremonies also help Van Kester in her work. Normally, she does not take centre stage. But as soon as she puts on her gown and takes up the beadle’s staff, that changes: “Once I put on my gown, I am no longer myself. Then I follow in the footsteps of all the beadles who did this before me”, Van Kester explains in the ‘sweat room’ on the first floor of the Erasmus Building, where PhD candidates wait out the tense minutes before their defence. Every square centimetre of the walls and much of the ceiling is covered with signatures from the thousands of PhD candidates who have used the room as a waiting area before their defence ceremony. “I am playing a role then. The role of the beadle.”

A beadle oversees the university’s academic ceremonies. These include inaugural lectures (the first official lecture of a professor), farewell lectures (the final lecture of a professor), the opening of the academic year, the dies natalis (the university’s anniversary), and PhD defences.

Checking diplomas

At such ceremonies, the beadle traditionally walks at the front of the procession of professors, the Executive Board, or a PhD candidate and their ‘paranymphs’. Dressed in a gown and a beret, and carrying a beadle’s staff.

“But that is actually only ten per cent of the job”, Van Kester explains. The vast majority of a working day for the university’s beadles is spent on all the administration and checks involved in a PhD trajectory. “For example, we check diplomas and ensure everything follows the correct procedures.”

And that administration is a substantial task for the eight-person team. Around eleven candidates obtain their PhDs each week. On an annual basis, more than three hundred young academics are awarded their doctorate after a nerve-racking defence.

Male-dominated profession

The academic rituals associated with a PhD defence are steeped in old traditions. Such as the beadle’s staff – now a ceremonial element, but in the Middle Ages intended to physically defend the rector of a university. Or the traditional phrase hora est, which in Latin means ‘it is time’. Exactly 60 minutes after the start of the defence, the beadle enters the room and announces with those words that the defence is over and everyone must stop speaking.

Van Kester has also seen many traditions change in recent years. In the past, only professors were allowed to wear a gown; now associate professors supervising PhD candidates may also do so during a defence. The hierarchy between professor and PhD candidate is also gradually diminishing. “And that is a good thing”, Van Kester says. “Supervising PhD candidates should come from a teaching role.”

“That fits with a broader societal change”, she continues. As does the shift in the balance between men and women. “When I started working here, this was essentially a male profession. Now there are more women than men.”

Working with people

Van Kester herself does not have a university background. She worked at a company for agricultural and horticultural machinery and was looking for a job that involved more contact with people. In 2007, she saw a vacancy for beadle in the newspaper. “But I had no idea what a beadle was”, Van Kester says. She looked up the word, and the profession immediately appealed to her: “So much innovation takes place at a university. People develop here. And I also find it wonderful that you can be part of a very special moment for someone who is obtaining their PhD.”

Over the years, Van Kester has guided thousands of PhD candidates on their big day. “Each defence is different, because every candidate is different. Some burst into tears in the sweat room, while others can hardly wait to begin their defence.” However the day unfolds, the defence always ends in a sense of release: “That is what makes this job so beautiful.”

Sometimes a defence is also very emotional. A few years ago, for instance, a terminally ill man obtained his PhD. He was brought to the university in an ambulance so that he could defend his thesis. “He had really been looking forward to it”, Van Kester recalls. A day after his defence, he died as a result of his illness. “That was intense and emotional. It really stays with you.”

The face of the beadle’s office

“Marleen is an incredibly warm kind”, says colleague Maria Parlevliet-Ramirez. Colleague Larisa Leerkamp agrees: “Very kind.” She continues: “She is always willing to think along and help with everything.” For them, Marleen is a source of knowledge: “She knows everyone”, says Leerkamp. “She truly is the face of the beadle’s office.”

“We really wish her well as she retires”, says Parlevliet-Ramirez. “But for us, it is a real loss.” Leerkamp adds: “I can hardly imagine she will no longer be working here.”

From bustle to calm

After a career at the beadle’s office spanning nearly twenty years, Marleen will retire at the beginning of April. “I will miss my colleagues”, she says on the balcony of the beadle’s office. “And the bustle. There is always something happening.” But Marleen is also ready for more peace and quiet. She has moved from the city to the countryside and will soon be able to enjoy the tranquillity and look forward to many road trips in her camper van. “I look back with satisfaction. This truly is the most wonderful profession in the world.”