Stoof was a networking manager who restored peace

Hans Stoof attended academic ceremonies regularly, even after stepping down from the role. As a rector, he was an eye-catching figure who always asked people what was going on at the university in a friendly manner. He was best known for his interest in others.

Stoof joined the University Medical Centre in 1999, at the end of his career. He immediately became the vice-chairman of the Board of Directors and the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Before coming to UU, Stoof worked his entire career at VU Amsterdam. He was a professor in Experimental Neurology, then became the director of the Research Institute for Neurosciences, and later served as a scientific director at the Research School for Neurosciences.

As the dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Stoof managed to merge the Academic Hospital, the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital and the Military Hospital into one University Medical Centre. He became known as a talented networker, someone with the necessary sense of perspective and optimism to bring all these parties together.

After Willem Hendrik Gispen's departure, Stoof was asked to become the university's rector. He hesitated at first. “I wanted to take it a bit easier. But it is weird to stop working while you're still young and in perfect health,” he said in an interview with UBlad (DUB's predecessor in print, Ed.) at the time.

He was UU's rector for almost four years. A lot of things had been turned upside down in Dutch higher education when he took the role. The Bachelor's and Master's system had just been introduced, faculties had merged, and a new approach to research had been implemented, in which focus areas were designated. “I looked around and identified a certain degree of mental fatigue. People were yearning for peace and quiet,” he told DUB in his farewell interview (in Dutch only).

Stoof was mainly interested in listening, watching and talking. “I was in favour of scattering corn along the road. Instead, let's define the playing field and let people come up with their own plans.” He was, however, the driving force behind the collaboration with the Eindhoven University of Technology. He retired in March 2011. He gave his colleagues a few tips when he retired. “Dare to select. Not all students belong in a university. Start collaborating more. Wipe your window clean and keep looking outside. Finally, keep the relationship with UMCU optimal. Together, UU and UMC are an unbeatable couple.”