Rob Verhofstad new chair of executive board
Rob Verhofstad has been appointed chair of the Executive Board by the HAN Supervisory Board. He will start on 1 October, and if possible already in September. Verhofstad is succeeding Kees Boele, who was chair of the Executive Board of HAN until 16 March 2020.
Broad experience in higher education
Rob Verhofstad (1972) has a wealth of experience in higher education. After studying Political Science at what was then still the Catholic University of Nijmegen, he stayed on to work in various positions, including as head of the Education Office. In 2011, he moved to Hanze University of Applied Sciences to become director of Education and Research. He then joined the Executive Board in 2015, first as a member and later as vice president.
Ancillary positions
He has also held and still holds numerous other positions in the Netherlands and abroad. These include member of the core team Energy Transition and Sustainability of the Missiegedreven Topsectoren- en Innovatiebeleid, board member of VNO-NCW/MKB-Noord (Groningen department) and chair of UASNL. This organization brings together 14 universities of applied sciences to promote practice-based research in Europe.
Broad administrative experience in education and research
Peter van Laarhoven, chair of the Supervisory Board: "We’re very pleased to appoint Rob Verhofstad as chair of the HAN Executive Board. His background and broad managerial experience in education and research convinced us that Rob is ideally suited to fulfil this role. He has the right skills and characteristics to join Yvonne de Haan and Bridget Kievits in managing a complex organization like HAN, finding answers to future challenges and promoting HAN in the region and beyond".
Quality at core
Although Rob Verhofstad is leaving a great university of applied sciences in Groningen behind him, he is keen to start at HAN: "HAN places the quality of education and research at its core, and connects that education and research with institutions and businesses in the region, and the world around it. I look forward to joining HAN and contributing to those goals, together with all the students, lecturers, support staff, managers and researchers who make up the HAN community".
