{"id":87909,"date":"2018-06-14T12:25:33","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T10:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=87909"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:01","slug":"rector-huib-polss-room-to-roam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/06\/14\/rector-huib-polss-room-to-roam\/","title":{"rendered":"Rector Huib Pols’s room to roam"},"content":{"rendered":"

His office is almost emptied out. Apart from a large suitcase: a present for his successor Rutger Engels. It\u2019s for transporting the chain of office worn by the rector during ceremonial functions. \u201cThe collar\u2019s rather unwieldy and vulnerable,\u201d explains rector magnificus Huib Pols (66). \u201cSo whenever I arrive at an official ceremony, it looks like I brought along my own toilet seat.\u201d After nearly five years as rector, Pols is stepping down on Friday 15 June. He will be going into retirement.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

We\u2019ve spoken quite regularly these past few years. Usually about slightly complicated matters of policy, scientific integrity or initiation rituals. That\u2019s why this time round we\u2019ll be trying a different tack. An extended bike tour through Huib Pols\u2019s Rotterdam, taking us past places that were important to him as an administrator, scientist, student and Rotterdammer<\/em>. The first stop: his office at Woudestein.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Today\u2019s academics need to account for every hour they spend on their work. This wreaks havoc on creativity.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

In our first interview, you argued for \u2018room to roam\u2019 for researchers. Do they presently have that kind of leeway?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI have to be honest: over the past few years, the pressure of work at universities has only increased further. While I\u2019d still love for every academic to have room to fossick around, I haven\u2019t been able to create it. It\u2019s as if we\u2019re increasingly being forced into this mould of efficiency. Today\u2019s academics need to account for every hour they spend on their work. This wreaks havoc on creativity. I used to have my best ideas when I could put my feet up and let my mind run wild. As an academic community, we need to take care that we don\u2019t lose this freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you have enough \u2018room to roam\u2019 during your term as a rector?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI spent a lot of time familiarising myself with the lingo used within the various faculties. When I first came here, I thought all kinds of dossiers would take me two years at most. But some of them have only now been rounded off, after five years. Of course, I used to be the dean of Erasmus MC and knew the other deans well. That\u2019s why I assumed I could also understand the language used in their faculties. But I was mistaken.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake the discussion with the Philosophy faculty, for example. They were convinced that I planned to axe them, even though I am sincerely convinced that Philosophy as an academic discipline is of invaluable importance for Erasmus University. I really had to stick my neck out for that one. I\u2019m glad that it all turned out OK in the end. And it\u2019s great to see how well the faculty is doing at present.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were also fears within the other smaller faculties that you planned to merge them. For example, one of the plans on the table was for a broad bachelor programme offered by ESHCC, ESSB and the Faculty of Philosophy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true: that was one of the options, but it wasn\u2019t set in stone. I wanted to give a number of smaller degree programmes an opportunity to improve their chances of survival among the larger programmes at EUR. The basic idea was a broad introductory first year, followed by specialisations in the second and third years so that these small programmes would gain a bit more mass.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcept we didn\u2019t have enough momentum because we were still in the growth curve of University College. The plan is tucked away in a drawer somewhere. Not at the back, because I still think it\u2019s a good idea. You shouldn\u2019t let smaller fields of study that are important for the university bleed to death, or keep them on a drip. It\u2019s precisely because you want to maintain them that you need to be open to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tangible legacy<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Before we pick up our bikes, we pass by the Polak Building, where they\u2019re building a brand-new studio on the ground floor. It will serve as the epicentre for the Community for Learning and Innovation<\/em> (CLI): a state-of-the-art recording studio and various other facilities for innovative teaching.<\/p>\n

The plan is to develop the CLI into a hub that lecturers can turn to with demands for information and support relating to the innovation of their education programme. Right now, it\u2019s mostly piles of building materials. But by the end of the year, the CLI may well have developed into the current rector magnificus\u2019s most tangible legacy. Pols takes a more modest view: \u201cI don\u2019t have any special feelings about the fact that my name is tied to this project. But I am proud that I\u2019ve managed to convince a lot of people of its importance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sobriety by fear<\/h2>

Once we hit the road \u2013 the rector on an e-bike, me on a swapfiets<\/em> and the photographer in tow on a racing bicycle \u2013 Pols tells me he was seriously ill in the autumn of 2016. \u201cI was in a bad state at that point.\u201d He had unexpectedly contracted sepsis \u2013 meningococcus \u2013 which had caused meningitis. \u201cI saw Erasmus MC\u2019s Intensive Care ward from the inside. Of course, I had already visited this unit, but in an entirely different context,\u201d he says with a smile. Is this the sobriety of a trained physician? \u201cOr a sobriety instilled by fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

We ride straight through Kralingen, the centre of student life in Rotterdam. Past the RSC\/RVSV society building Walhalla, and \u2013 a few hundred metres down the road \u2013 The Student Hotel, where many international students set up when they first come to Rotterdam. Two icons of the local student scene. We continue our conversation on the terrace of Grand Caf\u00e9 De Dijk.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

We just passed the society building of the corps and The Student Hotel. There are a lot of similarities between association members and international students: they\u2019re young, in Rotterdam for the first time, they\u2019re enrolled at Erasmus University, they have similar dreams and ambitions. So why is it that they move in completely separate worlds?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true that their worlds still lie very far apart when it comes to specific mores. In the case of the associations, these norms are so entrenched that they\u2019re difficult to change. I\u2019ve often said: don\u2019t be afraid to take some distance and experiment. When you look at the study associations and sports clubs, you see that they actually offer alternatives to the traditional society activities. The boundaries are blurring, and international students are playing a role in this shift.\u201d<\/p>\n

I believe there are other similarities between these two aspects of student life, besides. The outside world is critical of both the associations and internationalisation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI originally viewed internationalisation as one of my objectives for EUR, but it has taken such flight that I didn\u2019t have to do anything myself. Internationalisation isn\u2019t just offering your curriculum in English. In an international classroom, you\u2019re expected to discuss recognisable international issues and take a variety of cultures into account. This should be part of a lecturer\u2019s professional development, so my successor needs to keep a strong focus on this trend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree it does raise questions about how large our university should become exactly. When I consider the current infrastructure and what we aim to convey through our perspective on education, we need to ask ourselves whether we can continue to offer everyone small-scale, activating education if we continue growing much longer. And whether we\u2019ll actually have the physical space to accommodate all these students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Field lab<\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018The city isn\u2019t just our field lab \u2013 it\u2019s also where we live and work\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

We cycle past Oostplein and Blaak to Coolsingel, where workers are digging up the road. \u201cA typical Rotterdam scene,\u201d says Pols, who moved to the city in the early 1970s. \u201cThey\u2019re simultaneously overhauling Coolsingel and the Maastunnel. The whole city has become one big traffic jam. It was already like this when I was studying Medicine here.\u201d It\u2019s rather warm, so we seek out a bench in the shade of City Hall.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not just here to reflect on the Rotterdam passion for building, but also to talk about one of the rector\u2019s \u2018hobby horses\u2019: connecting to EUR\u2019s home town, big city problems and issues in today\u2019s society. Pols aims to create added value for society through the establishment of three Erasmus Initiatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city isn\u2019t just our field lab \u2013 it\u2019s also where we live and work. Let\u2019s open up to the world around us: that\u2019s the basic idea behind Erasmus Initiatives\u201d, says Pols. \u201cIt involves more than just a distribution of research funds. I hope it enables us to connect with researchers from a wide range of disciplines, with major societal problems and with Rotterdam.\u201d<\/p>\n

No masculine approach<\/h2>

We turn between the trams onto West-Kruiskade, a prime example of \u2018diverse\u2019 Rotterdam. Over the past year, it became painfully clear that EUR still has a few things to learn in this area when it came round to appointing new female professors. Only four academics were given a chair under the Westerdijk programme \u2013 rather than the funded maximum of nine. Even though when it comes to diversity in its top academic echelons, EUR is still dangling at the bottom of the list. It\u2019s a theme that still gets the retiring rector\u2019s goat.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I make no bones about it: it didn\u2019t work out, and I think that\u2019s a crying shame\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Over the past few years, you made a strong personal investment in the promotion of diversity at EUR. Are you disappointed that the university failed to use a number of Westerdijk grants?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou could definitely say so. I had even made a budget available for two extra chairs. Which gives some idea of what I was expecting. In the beginning, I thought: the deans obviously need a bit of time to get used to the idea. But gradually it became clear that they wouldn\u2019t be getting their act together. To nevertheless say something positive about the whole affair: we fortunately did appoint a number of other female professors in addition to the Westerdijk appointments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why is it they were unable to get their act together?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m dependent on our deans\u2019 nominations. So I\u2019m afraid I have to refer you to the deans.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve said: We don\u2019t need the money, our career development policy is such that it\u2019s impossible, or female candidates themselves don\u2019t want to be appointed to a chair within this scheme.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere there\u2019s a will there\u2019s a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you put your foot down enough?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not really into that masculine approach, but I did convey my deep sense of disappointment. I make no bones about it: it didn\u2019t work out, and I think that\u2019s a crying shame.\u201d<\/p>\n

Was drawing attention to diversity a thankless job?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWell I wouldn\u2019t say that. I did something similar when I was a dean at Erasmus MC. I dare say with reasonable success. And I think that\u2019s the crux of the matter: as a dean, you have a closer involvement, and you can achieve a lot more in terms of clout. At some points, it became really clear that I was reliant on the deans\u2019 efforts and willingness to make work of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Auntie Jo<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

At the beginning of Vierambachtsstraat, we turn right onto Burgemeester Meineszlaan. Pols spent a share of his student years in this stately neighbourhood. In 1972, he moved to Rotterdam from nearby Dordrecht to study Medicine. He would have preferred to study in Utrecht but didn\u2019t draw.<\/p>\n

It takes a while before we locate the right house on Van Oosterzeestraat. \u201cI lived here with a friend of mine. His father had bought the place, but it was in dire need of renovation. And I come from a family of contractors. So we ended up giving the place a complete overhaul together.\u201d This is also where Pols lived with his wife Lientje for the first time. As husband and wife that is \u2013 because the two had already moved in together before that.<\/p>\n

With a grin on his face, Pols points to a building at the end of the street. It currently says \u2018play therapy\u2019 on the facade, but back in the day it was a greengrocer\u2019s. \u201cAuntie Jo used to work there,\u201d says Pols. \u201cOne time, I asked if they had cocktail sticks for a party. Auntie Jo said: \u2018Sure, how many do you need?\u2019 A hundred. She started counting them out on the counter \u2013 one by one. Every cent counted back then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. and prof. dr. Pols<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

On to Erasmus MC, where Pols started as a student in 1972. He earned his doctoral degree in 1988. As did his eldest son David last year. His youngest son Thomas lives and works in Dubai as a health manager for Shell; David is a GP in South Rotterdam. A doctoral degree conferred by your own father, with \u2018dr.\u2019 and \u2018prof. dr.\u2019 Pols on the same page in your thesis. Pols Sr. is beaming with pride, although he hastens to say that his son got there entirely under his own steam. After arriving at Erasmus MC\u2019s new entrance hall, the photographer takes a bit more time for some shots. He notes a remarkable change in the rector\u2019s presence: \u201cYou suddenly seem all pepped up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018When patients are there for your entertainment, it\u2019s time to quit. It was the hardest decision of my career.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Do you miss Erasmus MC?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Smiling: \u201cNo, I still see it whenever I look out of my bedroom window in the morning. But allow me to paraphrase Couperus: \u2018If I\u2019m anything at all, I\u2019m an Erasmus MCer.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cLet it be clear that I also feel a part of Erasmus University. But I can\u2019t deny the roots that I\u2019ve developed, which are firmly embedded in this soil.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was your most precious moment here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt always gives me great pleasure to look back on the time when I was pursuing a doctorate. It was fun in the lab and they let me work in the clinic occasionally. That felt like a huge luxury. Throughout my career, every five to seven years I seemed to arrive at a fork in the road, with the opportunity to go down a new path. This has kept things exciting and challenging \u2013 I feel really privileged by this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you find it a pity that as an administrator, you are cut off from the day-to-day work of a physician or researcher?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to combine it in the beginning. When I started out as a dean, I still wore my white coat from time to time, as well as doing some work in the outpatient clinic. The other administrators found it a bit odd. I was something of an old-school doctor, and I also served as a kind of GP for the handful of patients at the clinic. At a certain point, I realised that those patients were basically left there for my entertainment. And when patients are there for you rather than the other way round, it\u2019s time to quit. It was the hardest decision of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Confined to the garage<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

In the garage below his new house on Westzeedijk, we find his big hobby: a bright red Citro\u00ebn 2CV that Pols is working on together with his son David. Right now the Tin Snail, which has been in the family for 25 years, is confined to the garage by that blasted new \u2018low emission zone\u2019. It isn\u2019t ready to drive anyway \u2013 although this is set to change in the months ahead. \u201cMy sons would like me to fix up another vintage car after retiring, but I need to think about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

We take the lift to the eleventh floor, where Pols\u2019s wife Lientje is already cooking dinner: a macaroni casserole with ham and cheese. Out on the balcony \u2013 beer in hand, with a fine view of the Euromast, Nieuwe Maas and from the kitchen even Campus Woudestein \u2013 Pols explains that one thing that proved very helpful was the \u2018Rectoren College<\/em>\u2019, the informal consultation platform for the rectores magnifici of each of the Dutch universities. \u201cI have always found it very pleasant to speak freely about what was going on within the university in that setting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bitterballen<\/h2>

And as a rector, you need to keep something of the student mind-set. Because the custodians of Dutch science turn out to have a tradition: whenever they come together, they feast on the small Dutch croquettes called bitterballen<\/em>. Which includes the Erasmus University Centenary in De Doelen, on the very day Pols became rector. On the menu for the festivities, bitterballen<\/em> were conspicuous by their absence, however. So the rectors arranged their fix at SSR\u2019s society building, which was just around the corner on Mauritsweg. \u201cTwo weeks later, I had to issue a warning to SSR for various incidents during the initiation period. Which of course was a cause for some hilarity among my fellow rectors. They said: \u2018You can\u2019t do that to those kids \u2013 they were out frying up bitterballen<\/em> for us in the middle of the night.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

By now, Lientje Pols has also pulled up a chair. She is talking about the couple\u2019s recent move from Rochussenstraat to Westzeedijk and I ask her if she misses her garden. \u201cThe children always used to say: \u2018If the lawn is looking flawless, it means Huib has something on his mind.\u2019 You could find him out on the grass, on his knees, picking every clover he could find. He would be brooding on something then.\u201d Pols: \u201cThat was my \u2018room to roam\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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