Marieke Huisman stops as chair of Ambassadors’ Network

06 / 09 / 2022 | Michaela Nesvarova

Professor Marieke Huisman is stepping down as the chair of the UT Ambassadors’ Network. She is succeeded by two co-chairs, Laura Vargas and Roland van Rijswijk – Deij. This was announced during the Opening of the Academic Year yesterday.

Photo by: Annabel Jeuring

Professor Marieke Huisman

The Ambassadors' Network advises the Executive Board on diversity policies. In recent years, its focus has shifted from advancement of women in academia to diversity in a broad sense. The network consists of UT employees who critically assess and monitor the implementation of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) related measures within faculties and services.

Marieke Huisman, Professor of Software Reliability, has served as the chairperson of the Ambassadors’ Network since 2017. As of this academic year, her role is taken over by Laura Vargas, project coordinator and policy advisor, and Roland van Rijswijk – Deij, adjunct professor of measurement-based Internet Security.

‘The natural reason for this change is that I have been chair for several years now, and it’s time for other people to take over this role,’ states Huisman. ‘I believe we have achieved quite some things over the last years, like the creation of the DE&I office, but there are still many more things that can be done, and Laura and Roland have a lot of energy and ideas to achieve that.’

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