Rector Magnificus Emile Aarts

Dies Speech November 19, 2015

Traditional Values:Towards a New Identity

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“The debate about the role and therefore the value of

universities is as old as the universities themselves,

which is good. Universities should position themselves

as a central part of society and play a leading role in the

understanding and advancement of it. They therefore

should continuously seek the debate about their

existence and the way they handle the universal

knowledge that they count as their trade product.”

Emile Aarts, Rector Magnificus

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Following the classic reading of Henry Newman (1852), which is still widely considered as directionsetting, there are three knowledgeelements that are important in the discussion about universities:

n Knowledge to its endn Knowledge in relation to learning

n Knowledge in relation to professional skills

Obviously, their relation to the contextin which they are explored,determines their meaning and theirchange over time. This according toJohan Wissema has led to threegenerations of universities, whereeach generation builds and expandson the prior generation, i.e. 1stgeneration (transferring knowledge),2nd generation (extendingknowledge), and 3rd generation(generation impact from knowledge).

What is a university,exactly----------------------------------------------------

Stephan Collini, an English literarycritic and professor at the Universityof Cambridge, has recently addressedthis question in greater detail andmy understanding from this bothcompelling and controversial text isthat no universal definition exists. Mycolleague Robert Maynard Hutchinsalready in the late fifties has stoppedlooking for a deeper meaning andstated that a university is nothing morethan a ‘collection of schools inter -connected by a central heating’, whichis a rather intriguing statement, as it strongly reflects the autonomouspositioning of the schools and in somerespect it also resembles the way ofworking at Tilburg University.

However, I tend to belief that there ismore to it and that the true meaningof a university can only be found in thecontext in which it operates...

----------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------A university should be astimulating environmentfor the restless hunt ofscientific knowledge-----------------------------------

The role of a university

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Earlier this month, the VSNU –Association of universities in theNetherlands, published a trendreport in which they present theresults of a study on the mostinfluential parameters determiningthe context in which contemporaryuniversities operate.

We are changing from a universityto a multiversity: the universalknowledge that we develop hasbecome subject to a multiversity of contextual changes.

Does this mean that our traditionalvalues no longer hold? And that we have to look for a disruptivepositioning of our university? In myopinion this is not necessary if we arewilling to transpose our traditionalvalues to become meaningful inpresent day settings.

21st century universities should face societyThe position of a university within society is changing:

n Digital innovationn Global orientationn International competitionn Demand for socialresponsibility

n Changing funding schemes and models

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--------------------------------The existential debate on universities ranges back to their origin--------------------------------

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Where do wecome from?So let’s have a look at the traditionalvalues of Tilburg University. They can be found in the body of thoughtprovided by founding father MartinusCobbenhagen, who has given meaningto our existence our ‘raison d’êtrethrough his vision. He was one of thefirst to address social responsibilitywithin enterprises based on catholicsocial-economic ideas.

The Cobbenhagen ideas can also beextended to contemporary theories of thought. Daniel Kahneman, 2002Nobel Prize laurate, for instance,speaks about two selves in his theoryof Behavioral Economy where the twoselves refer to reality and our

imagination of it, respectively. Alsothe theory of Civil Economy of LuiginoBruni and Stefano Zamagni addresseconomy in relation to the greaterspectrum of disciplines of social-political practices to develop andcultivate good life.

The deepening of our insights into ourtraditional values in relation to ourexistence and more specifically to oureducation is an interesting topic inrelation to Bildung. It is my profoundwish to turn Bildung into one of theleading concepts for education atTilburg University and it thereforegives me great pleasure to announcethat Profs. Alkeline van Lenning andHerman de Regt have agreed towrite an essay containing a vision oneducation for our university startingfrom the concept of Bildung.

Now, more than sixty years later, westill very much work in this spirit. It isabout Pluralism, Justice, Tolerance,and Solidarity. And this combinationof the theoretical and normative valuesin the context of the advancement of society provides Tilburg Universitywith a unique profile.

Martinus Cobbenhagen--------------------------------------------------------Father Martinus Cobbenhagen combinedthe hard theoretical skills of economics,management, and finance with the softand normative values of social and humanresponsibility. Cobbenhagen wantedstudents to know about the context in whichthe hard theoretical economical modelstake effect and therefore he wanted studentsto know about law, sociology, psychology,and theology in addition. --------------------------------------------------------The ideas of Cobbenhagen’s ‘Good Life’are rooted in the philosophical-ethicalwork of Thomas van Aquino or moreprecisely the subsequent 19th centuryNeo-Thomism, which sought to restorefundamental scholastic doctrines of the13th century. --------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------Our current thinking is rooted in our traditional values-------------------------------

From university...

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... to multiversity!So what does this mean forTilburg University? In my opinionthe ideas of Cobbenhagensupport the extension of ourmission Understanding Societyto use our knowledge to interactwith society by challenging,innovating, criticizing, advancing,fostering, cherishing, andinforming it.

I have been discussing thisextension over the past monthsextensively. Some colleaguesargue that the normative elementsdo not provide enough directionand we need to introduce anideology from which we advancesociety, which is not desirable forour university. Many of ourstudent follow the reasoning thatunderstanding society calls for aresponsibility to act, a

responsibility to give somethingin return. These discussions arequite stimulating and I havecollected many examples of goodscientific work produced atTilburg University that carries thepotential to give something inreturn.

One example is the new projectof Prof. Lans Bovenberg who isturning his deep insights in thetheory of economics into a newset of courses on economy forhigh school students.

A second example is the researchof Prof. Mirjam van Reisenwhose insights in remittances ofrefugees and the use ofCellphones and Mobile Money inthe context of Human Traffickinghave led to a report with advices

on the refugee problem and thatwas recently offered to DonaldTusk, chairman of the EuropeanCouncil.

These are fine cases of SocialInnovation and our universityseems to carry an abundance of such impactful results. Theydetermine our profile and evenmore importantly, they motivatestudents and our scientific staff.

That is about impact. These arejust two fine examples of SocialInnovation and all universitiesseem to carry an abundance ofsuch impactful results. Theydetermine our profile and evenmore importantly, they motivateour students, they motivate ourstaff, and we are good at it!

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Understanding Society-------------------------------------------------

• Challenging• Innovating• Criticizing• Advancing• Fostering• Cherishing• Informing

-------------------------------Our vision andmission should guideour discussions andstrengthen our SocialInnovation profile-------------------------------

Understanding SocietyUnderstanding Society is our motto and Social Innovation is our mission,where Social Innovation refers to theempowerment of society to be able tocope with its present and futureproblems.

During the past month I have beendiscussing our motto quite extensivelywith many of our colleagues and there is a general feeling that UnderstandingSociety is still at the heart of our activitiesbut that we, wherever possible, shouldapply our insights to advance society by challenging, innovating, criticizing,fostering, cherishing, and informing it. In this way we can generate impact andmake out mission come true.

How will we deliveron this promise?

For that, we will return to our “scientificcompetence base”. Tilburg Universityhas four main scientific competences:Economy & Management, Law &Governance, Social & Behavioral Sciences,and Humanities and Theology. In allthese fields we are strong and inter -nationally recognized as dominantplayers. We will keep our focus on thesefields and strengthen our knowledge inthe pursuit of scientific excellence. Withthese scientific competences we profileourselves thus substantiating the originallines of thought that give meaning to a university as discussed earlier in myspeech.

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Main competences-------------------------------------------------

• Economics & Business• Law & Governance• Social & Behaviouralsciences

• Humanities & Theology

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ScientificExcellence------------------------------------------------------------------

Economics & Business

Law & Governance

Social & Behavioural sciences

Humanities & Theology

Education---------------------------------------------------------- Bachelor and Master programs

Research----------------------------------------------------------Scientific Communities of Practice

Valorization----------------------------------------------------------Social Innovation Areas

Highly qualified

‘ondernemende

denkers’

Scientific output

Societal Impact

--------------------------------------------------Tilburg University is a student centric,academic driven university that focuseson social innovation by combiningeducation, research, and knowledgevalorization in the pursuit of excellence.

--------------------------------------------------

Our scientific competences and provide us withthe basis from which we conduct our three mainacademic processes: that transfer the knowledgethrough education, to extend the knowledge byresearch and to generate impact from knowledgethrough valorization. It is student-centric, it is drivenby our academic thoughts and it is all about SocialInnovation.

The way in which we implement and execute theseprocesses adds to the uniqueness of our profile. Foreducation this refers to the innovative EducationalPrograms that we offer, for research to our contributionto the international Scientific Communities of Practicein which we participate, and for valorization to theimpact that we have on the Social Innovation Areasthat Tilburg University wishes to engage in.

The3rdgenerationuniversity

Turning profile into action I would like to remind you that we are in the middle of executing the strategicplan 2014-2017, which is still very muchvalid and directs our operations in thecoming years

Two years ago we formulated its contentsand objectives under the title Making the Difference and we focused onQuality, Innovation, Networks, Inter -nationalization, and Effectiveness. As Isaid, this plan is still very much valid andlooking at it objectives we are well onour way to realize them. Back then, wedefined ten chapters and judging fromthe progress we made for most of themwe are doing great, but we have to domore to meet the objectives that we setourselves for the year 2017. However, westill have a full year to accomplish that.

Compelling agenda for the year to comeTherefore, we have come up with eightlines of action for the next year. They areall rooted in the agenda that we have to accomplish in the plan from 2014 to2017 and each of the eight lines isaccomplished with objectives and moredetailed plans to realize them. In my view,they are both challenging and meaningfuland they will further strengthen our profileand help us to complete our mission. I sincerely hope that you all will find waysto contribute to their achievement in away that stimulates and motivates youpersonally and helps Tilburg Universityto strengthen its position at the sametime.

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Strategic plan-----------------------------------------------

• Project income• PhD Theses• Bachelor market share• National performanceindicators

• Education quality• Societal orientation• Social Innovation• Valorization• Business operation• Corporate Social • Responsibility

Making the Difference-------------------------------------------------

• Quality• Innovation• Networks • Internationalization• Effectiveness

In my opinion all eight action lines are equally important, butnevertheless I would like to single out one specific item,because it is very close to my heart, and that is the last one: to engage the entire university in what we call ‘constructivedialogue’. I think that it is an important element that willcontribute to the execution of the other action lines as well.For me, a constructive dialogue contains two elements: a thorough discussion followed by constructive conclusions that are based on this discussion.

What I witnessed in the past six months is that we do havediscussions, but they are not tough enough. Therefore theconclusions are neither as constructive as they can be. This iswhere I want to put a lot of emphasis, in combination of course with the points that we have put on the agenda that I just presented.

8 Lines for action-------------------------------------------------

1 - Implement our EducationProfile

2 - Generate impact from ourscientific competences

3 - Make the Grand Initiativeon Data science work

4 - Go for Grants, personaland thematic

5 - Improve operationalexcellence through BEST

6 - Deploy the reserves policyto start new initiatives

7 - Reach out to society toadvance it

8 - Strengthen our culture ofconstructive dialogue

-----------------------------------Our 2016 agenda willstrengthen our profile-----------------------------------

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Tough discussions

Constructiveconclusions

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You could ask me: “Dear rector, whatare you going to do now? Are you going to visit us or how are you goingto give body to these dialogues?”

I am happy to announce that, in goodagreement with the Council of Deans,we will introduce seven debating forums:

• Student Debating Forum• Academic Round Table• Speech 2020• Cobbenhagen Lecture• The Board on Tour• Meet the Executives• Town Hall Meeting

These forums cover the entire populationof our university. So there is no escapefor any of you, and I will start with thestudents, and it ranges up to our alumni,and all the others will be involved. So no excuses anymore, you are allinvited to participate!

I am very happy to announce too thatalready today we will have our first roundof our academic table – the dialogueforum of our professors – that will takeplace this evening and where we willdiscuss the topic of ‘Scientific Integrity’.

The dialogue forums will help us all toengage Tilburg University both in thepursuit of scientific excellence as wellas in the desire to accomplish ourmission of a university that understandssociety and advances it through SocialInnovation.

Engaging theUniversity

To generate impact weneed to engage:understanding society =engaging the university

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