Dean at Radboud resigns, unhappy with consultants’ influence on university

Universities are being run too much like businesses, says a departing dean at Radboud University. Her statement has drawn considerable support: at other universities too, consultants are said to be increasingly shaping the direction of policy.

Paula Fikkert has been dean of the Faculty of Arts at Radboud University Nijmegen since 2024. Before that, she had already been affiliated with the university for 25 years as a professor. But in an internal email to all faculty staff, she announced that she is stepping down from her role as dean, university magazine Vox reports.

Fikkert reportedly gave two reasons for her departure. She has been awarded an ERC research grant and can no longer combine her work as a researcher with her duties as dean. But she also says she can no longer support the direction taken by the university’s Executive Board.

“The direction in which the university is moving is no longer determined by our own academics but by consultants”, she writes. In doing so, the university is said to be focused mainly ‘on the efficient use of staff and finances, and on training students efficiently’.

Creativity and curiosity

Criticism is often heard within higher education that universities of applied sciences and universities are being run too much like businesses. The dean of Arts now contrasts this with different values: a human-centred approach, creativity and academic curiosity. “I see too little of this reflected in the future plans of RU”, Fikkert says.

Her farewell email has prompted many reactions. A group of Radboud staff have drawn up an open letter, Vox reports, in which they echo her criticism. “We too feel that the direction in which the university is moving is being determined mainly by consultants and excessive business-oriented considerations.”

Recognisable problem

Responses have also come from other universities. A professor at Leiden University says she recognises the issue within her own institution. “This report touches on a broader concern I have had for some time about the direction universities are moving in”, she writes.

Radboud’s Executive Board responded cautiously. According to the board, Fikkert has raised her concerns on several occasions before, including about how the budget cuts are being implemented. But: “With the approval of the university’s representative bodies, the university strategy was adopted earlier this year.” The board also expressed its appreciation for Fikkert’s work as dean and as a researcher.