Press release

Professor Arthur Mol appointed as Rector Magnificus and member of the Wageningen UR Executive Board

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May 20, 2015

The Wageningen UR Supervisory Board has appointed Professor Arthur P.J. Mol (1960) as Rector Magnificus and member of the Executive Board with effect from 28 May 2015. He succeeds Professor Martin J. Kropff, who will be taking up the post of Director General of CIMMYT in Mexico on 1 June.

Arthur Mol, a sociologist, has led the Environmental Policy Group since 2000. He also guest lectures at Tsinghua University in Beijing and at the National University of Malaysia. He is editor of the journal Environmental Politics and of the books in the New Horizons in Environmental Politics series. His most important research topics are globalisation, social theory and environmental issues, ecological modernisation, sustainable production and consumption, and urban environmental policy. In this context he looks in particular at how and in what form information influences policy shaping and implementation, and how administrators and other players involved with these issues can consciously use this information in their activities.

Arthur Mol studied Environmental Hygiene in Wageningen (1985) and obtained his doctorate in Sociology at the University of Amsterdam in 1995. From 2009 to 2014 he was the Director of the Wageningen School of Social Sciences, as well as being a member of the Doctorate Board. In his capacity as a promotor he has helped 48 candidates to obtain their PhD and is currently supervising another 23 who are in the process of preparing their theses.

As a member of the Executive Board of Wageningen UR, Professor Mol will be responsible for the education and research portfolio. The other members are Professor Louise O. Fresco (President) and Dr Tijs Breukink (finances and operational management). Professor Mol’s particular focus will be on continuing the renewal and modernisation of education at Wageningen University.