TU/e reappoints Smits as president

The Supervisory Board has reappointed Robert-Jan Smits as President and Nicole Ummelen as Vice-President of TU/e. In addition, the Supervisory Board is starting the recruitment process for a new Rector as Rector Frank Baaijens will reach the end of his second term in 2023.

The second term of President Robert-Jan Smits will begin on May 15, 2023. "We are very satisfied with the way in which the President fulfils his role," says President of the Supervisory Board Peter Wennink. "He has achieved exceptional results in the areas of collaboration, reputation, networking and entrepreneurship, among others, and all this in a period of global crises that have had a major impact on the university. We are therefore delighted that Mr. Smits will be conducting a second term and we look forward to it with full confidence."

For Nicole Ummelen, the second term begins on January 1, 2023. "We are very pleased with Ms. Ummelen's conscientious, unifying and decisive efforts," Wennink explains. "Among other things, she leads the SQUAD operation in a solid and committed manner and has provided new and important impulses in the field of sustainability and campus development. It is with pleasure that we can appoint her to a second term."

On May 1, 2023, the second term of Rector Frank Baaijens, who took office in 2015, will come to an end. The Supervisory Board will therefore soon start the process of recruiting his successor. Wennink: "We are extremely grateful to Mr. Baaijens for the many years in which he put his career as a top researcher on hold to help lead the university. With his exceptional analytical mind, strategic outlook and empathetic style, he has made a transformative contribution to the TU/e strategy, to attracting talent and to improving diversity and the gender balance."

This article was first published on 11 July by TU/e.