Anton Pijpers calls for greater cooperation between universities as he steps down

The mayor of Utrecht, Sharon Dijksma, presented him with the high royal honour. "Anton has served Utrecht and its university like no other," said Dijksma.

On Thursday, November 13, Pijpers bid farewell to the university to which he had been affiliated for some forty years. He first joined UU as a Veterinary Medicine student; later, he became a professor and the dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. For the past eight years, he has served as the university's president and has chaired the Executive Board. 

The presentation of the royal honour was the highlight of a gathering in which Pijpers was already overwhelmed with tokens of appreciation. Pijpers also received the silver university medal from Karin Laglas, Chair of the UU Supervisory Board, and the provincial medal of honour from the Utrecht King's Commissioner, Hans Oosters.

Peace and quiet
The various speakers praised Pijpers' unifying and pragmatic leadership style. According to UU Vice-President Margot van der Starre, it was mainly thanks to him that the past few years have been marked by "peace and quiet” in the university's administration.

Others emphasised the positive role Pijpers played in developing Utrecht Science Park as an important centre for knowledge development and business activity, as well as in strengthening ties with the city and the Utrecht region.

Utrecht Science Park versus De Uithof
The meeting began with an interview with Pijpers, conducted by DUB's new editor-in-chief, Bas Mesters. Mesters presented him with several dilemmas, such as whether he prefers the name “Utrecht Science Park” or “De Uithof”. He said he prefers the former because the latter reminds him too much of the windy ice rink “De Uithof” in The Hague, where he once skated as a promising talent.

He also said that if he really had to choose, his answer to the question of whether the workload at UU is “too high” would be "no". Pijpers acknowledged that people have to work very hard at UU, but he does not necessarily see that as a problem. In his view, it is the manager's task to give employees “enjoyment, perspective and autonomy in their work”.

In the interview, Pijpers also addressed how relations in society have hardened and the consequences this has for the university. He did not shy away from commenting on difficult issues such as tensions with the pro-Palestinian movement. When asked, he also looked back on his alleged excessive expense claims. You can watch the entire conversation below.

In his speech, Pijpers called on universities to collaborate more closely, arguing that this is necessary to protect academia. He referred to recent events in the United States, where scientific institutions are under attack by the Trump administration. "I hope that universities around the world will join forces and take action to safeguard academic freedom." 

In his view, publicly funded Dutch universities should also work more closely together. They could even team up to ensure a broad range of courses is maintained in the Netherlands. "Do we really need to drive up costs by competing for students with marketing campaigns? It would be great if we stopped doing that."
 
Pijpers acknowledges that relinquishing autonomy is a difficult task for institutions, but he believes universities must dare to step out of their comfort zones, including in discussions on higher education funding. He believes that this is possible, as demonstrated by the joint plan drawn up by Dutch universities under his leadership to steer the internationalisation of higher education in the right direction. This prevented all bachelor's programmes from having to undergo a language test imposed by the minister of education, culture and science.

Carnival scarf
Then it was time for drinks in the Aula of the Utrecht University Hall. Upon arrival, the Utrecht veterinarians' song was performed, and the retiring UU president sang along heartily.

Pijpers was once again addressed during dinner in the Senate Room, in the presence of virtually all the presidents from other universities. Once again, he was praised for his administrative qualities and his ability to bring people together. The atmosphere was relaxed and humorous. At one point, Pijpers accompanied a carnival performance by the faculty deans, who were dressed in Oeteldonk red, white and yellow carnival scarves, with broad arm gestures.

It is an open secret that Pijpers blocked his schedule around carnival time to travel to Den Bosch. He received a carnival scarf knitted by one of the deans to keep him warm during his next trip down south.