Rector Magnificus

Dr. Maurits van Rooijen

Maurits van Rooijen FRSA (53) is Rector Magnificus of Nyenrode Business Universiteit. As of October 1 2009, he succeded prof. dr. Bert de Groot, who was Rector Magnificus of Nyenrode between 2006 - 2009. Van Rooijen is an economic historian and since 1993 associated with the University of Westminster in London. Since 2003, he was responsible for expanding the university's international position, as Executive Vice-President for International and Institutional Development.

Van Rooijen obtained his doctorate at Utrecht University on the theme of green urbanization. He has held positions at several universities, including Leiden University, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Victoria University in Melbourne. As a visiting professor, Van Rooijen is associated with a variety of educational institutions worldwide. In addition, he holds various international administrative positions. He is, for example, President of the World Association for Co-operative Education (Boston MA, USA), which supports work-integrated learning; President of the Compostela Group of Universities (Santiago de Compostela, Spain), an association that stimulates cooperation and dialogue in the field of higher education; and Vice President of the European Access Network (London), which seeks to encourage under-represented groups to participate in higher education. In 2008, Van Rooijen was involved in the founding of the Euro-Mediterranean University in Slovenia, an initiative of the European Parliament.

Under his auspices, the University of Westminster has grown to become one of the UK's largest universities in terms of international teaching staff and the most international student body. From his position at the University of Westminster, Van Rooijen has also been closely involved in the setting up of universities in Africa and Central Asia. The University of Westminster has been awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise twice consecutively for its international achievements.