Headlines

Professor Willem Hendrik Gispen has been appointed Rector ofUtrecht University. He will succeed Professor Harrie Voorma onApril 1st. Gispen holds a chair in molecular pharmacology at theUniversity Medical Center and is director of the Rudolf MagnusInstitute of Neural Sciences. During long service as dean he was aforce behind curriculum renewal at the Medical Faculty. He was alsothe instigator of the UU Academic Biomedical Cluster, whichcombines the research and education efforts of biology, pharmacy,medicine and veterinary medicine. Gispen is joint founder of andwrites for the 'De Smet' cabaret of medical full professors.

Interest

More than three times as many graduates as last year have rushedin part payment of the interest on their student loans. They werecaught unawares by a change in tax laws which cancels deduction ofthe interest as from January 1. The ex-students paid off 4.5million guilders of interest in December as opposed to 1.2 millionin the same month last year. The tax deduction scrapping hasoutraged student unions and one of them, the LSVb, criticized badgovernment information to the ex-students. Education Minister LoekHermans has reduced interest on student loans from 5.92 to 5.18percent as of January 1 to offset the measure. Interest on loanscontracted before 1992 remains 3.53 percent.

Language training

The Faculty of Arts and the James Boswell Institute are tojointly offer special contract courses in languages andtranslation. January next year will see the partners launch coursesfor university staff and students plus external target groups,under the umbrella of the newly-formed Language Contract TrainingAgency (BCT). For many years, the James Boswell Institute hasoffered language courses for the well-qualified and corporatetraining courses. The institute hopes to use the Faculty of Arts'language education expertise to expand current activities. Thepoverty-stricken faculty needs the extra income to try to stave offlooming staff cuts.