“No, it is by no means a done deal that the council will approve the plans”, Teun Dekker, chair of the University Council, insists. “I understand why it might seem that way. But the fact that a detailed proposal exists does not mean everyone has already agreed to it. You need those details to determine whether everything has been thoroughly considered.” According to Dekker, it shouldn’t matter that the university’s Executive Board wants the University Council to approve the proposal. “The council must form its own opinion.”
Dekker also points out that the University Council hasn’t had the documents for long. “We only received them ourselves in December, just before Christmas. We saw an initial version last May, discussed it at length and gave a lot of feedback. After that, the plans went ‘underground’. Whenever we asked questions, the Executive Board said that all answers would be covered in the new version. We are now working hard to check if that’s true and whether those answers are satisfactory.”
Discussion
Not everyone is convinced. In a post on the intranet, support staff representative An Stevens writes that she is facing a “difficult choice” as a University Council member because “so much is still unclear” and on some points “a positive vote would feel like blind trust”. She has invited colleagues to share their views with her. “I think a discussion needs to get going”, Stevens explains to Observant. “I don’t think I can make a good decision without hearing as many opinions as possible. This is such an important decision – some say the most important one since the university was founded.”
Stevens says she feels pressure increasing. More and more people have been approaching her, while she also has to keep up with her regular duties. Will 25 February come too soon? “We may decide that we feel it’s too early to vote, but that’s not just up to me.” Although Stevens is generally in favour of the integration, she believes “it has to be done properly. I feel free to vote according to my conscience.”
Several outcomes
If the University Council rejects the proposal, several outcomes are possible, explains Dekker. “The proposal would go back to the Executive Board. They could decide to drop it altogether or revise and resubmit it, unless they strongly believe we should have approved the plans in their current form. That would create a conflict, involving the Supervisory Board, which might lead to a legal dispute. I don’t see that happening quickly.”
If the plans are approved, the University Council’s role is far from over, Dekker adds. If other representative bodies, including the FHML Faculty Council, also give their approval, a transition period of twelve to eighteen months will begin. “During that time, a lot of details will need to be worked out, and the University Council will continue to have a say.”
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