If Education Secretary Hermans gives permission and the University Council approves, there will be a Board of Governors of five people on campus from the beginning of next year. The new board will govern the University of Twente as a team, under the leadership of the rector/president. The other members will all be assigned their own 'primary area of interest'. There will be one member for education, one for research, one for financial affairs, and one for personnel and processes.
According to José van Eijndhoven, who on behalf of the Supervisory Board has determined the new governmental structure together with a structure committee, the UT needs a comparatively heavy top to be able to follow the developments in higher education. 'More students by broadening education, selectivity to improve the research profile, plans for new buildings, a sharper personnel policy, and all this with limited financial means. These large changes ask for careful execution.'
The new board needs to enlarge the base of support for these innovations considerably. 'The link between centralised and decentralised parts of the university must be strengthened', according to Van Eijndhoven. 'The quality of decisions must be higher. The supervisory board feels that five people will be better able to do that than three.'
The new members of the board have to show their faces on the shop floor. 'Let's say that they should not spend more than half their time in the BB-building or outside the UT', according to Van Eijndhoven. 'The rest of the time they should be looking around at faculties or services.'
To improve the implementation of policy the relationship between Board of Governors (CvB) and faculty deans should become closer. 'The latter have until now not really been involved in developing and implementing policy', according to Van Eijndhoven. To improve contact with scientists, there is, moreover, talk of setting up a central committee research consisting of all research directors. This committee will advising the CvB member for research. At the moment there already is an education committee advising the CvB member for education. The appointment of two extra members on the board should not lead to an enlargement of the civil service. 'Of course the extension will cost more money at first', according to Van Eijndhoven. 'This is why the extra members are in principle appointed for four years only. And by more efficiently governingthe university they will pay for themselves.'
Drafting the report the structure committee already assumed that the present rector magnificus would return in the new board as rector/president. 'Van Vught is good at drafting the big picture, he has a vision on higher education, and he is a wonderful academic figurehead', Van Eijndhoven explains. 'But you really need those four other members on the board to implement those plans.'
Van Eijndhoven will also be looking for the four new members of the board in the UT-community. 'We need one or two people from outside the UT. But any UT-employee who knows a suitable candidate, should by all means let the Supervisory Board know.'
